Sample records for solving eigenvalue problems

With straightforward extension, the FEAST eigenvalue algorithm [Polizzi, Phys. Rev. B 79, 115112 (2009)] is capable of solving the generalized eigenvalueproblems representing traveling-wave problems—as exemplified by the complex band-structure problem—even though the matrices involved are complex, non-Hermitian, and singular, and hence outside the originally stated range of applicability of the algorithm. The obtained eigenvalues/eigenvectors, however, contain spurious solutions which must be detected and removed. The efficiency and parallel structure of the original algorithm are unaltered. The complex band structures of Si layers of varying thicknesses and InAs nanowires of varying radii are computed as test problems.

EISPACK-J, a subprogram package for solvingeigenvalueproblems, has been developed and subprograms with a variety of functions have been prepared. These subprograms can solve standard problems of complex matrices, general problems of real matrices and special problems in which only the required eigenvalues and eigenvectors are calculated. They are compared to existing subprograms, showing their features through benchmark tests. Many test problems, including realistic scale problems, are provided for the benchmark tests. Discussions are made on computer core storage and computing time required for each subprogram, and accuracy of the solution. The results show that the subprograms of EISPACK-J, based on Householder, QR and inverse iteration methods, are the best in computing time and accuracy. (author)

An inverse eigenvalueproblem usually entails two constraints, one conditioned upon the spectrum and the other on the structure. This paper investigates the problem where triple constraints of eigenvalues, singular values, and diagonal entries are imposed simultaneously. An approach combining an eclectic mix of skills from differential geometry, optimization theory, and analytic gradient flow is employed to prove the solvability of such a problem. The result generalizes the classical Mirsky, Sing-Thompson, and Weyl-Horn theorems concerning the respective majorization relationships between any two of the arrays of main diagonal entries, eigenvalues, and singular values. The existence theory fills a gap in the classical matrix theory. The problem might find applications in wireless communication and quantum information science. The technique employed can be implemented as a first-step numerical method for constructing the matrix. With slight modification, the approach might be used to explore similar types of inverse problems where the prescribed entries are at general locations.

An inverse eigenvalueproblem usually entails two constraints, one conditioned upon the spectrum and the other on the structure. This paper investigates the problem where triple constraints of eigenvalues, singular values, and diagonal entries are imposed simultaneously. An approach combining an eclectic mix of skills from differential geometry, optimization theory, and analytic gradient flow is employed to prove the solvability of such a problem. The result generalizes the classical Mirsky, Sing–Thompson, and Weyl-Horn theorems concerning the respective majorization relationships between any two of the arrays of main diagonal entries, eigenvalues, and singular values. The existence theory fills a gap in the classical matrix theory. The problem might find applications in wireless communication and quantum information science. The technique employed can be implemented as a first-step numerical method for constructing the matrix. With slight modification, the approach might be used to explore similar types of inverse problems where the prescribed entries are at general locations. (paper)

The solutions of sparse eigenvalueproblems and linear systems constitute one of the key computational kernels in the discretization of partial differential equations for the modeling of linear accelerators. The computational challenges faced by existing techniques for solving those sparse eigenvalueproblems and linear systems call for continuing research to improve on the algorithms so that ever increasing problem size as required by the physics application can be tackled. Under the support of this award, the filter algorithm for solving large sparse eigenvalueproblems was developed at Stanford to address the computational difficulties in the previous methods with the goal to enable accelerator simulations on then the world largest unclassified supercomputer at NERSC for this class of problems. Specifically, a new method, the Hemitian skew-Hemitian splitting method, was proposed and researched as an improved method for solving linear systems with non-Hermitian positive definite and semidefinite matrices.

A methodology for solvingeigenvalueproblems for the multigroup neutron transport equation in 1D slab geometry is presented. In this paper we formulate and compare different variants of nonlinear multi-level iteration methods. They are defined by means of multigroup and effective one-group low-order quasi diffusion (LOQD) equations. We analyze the effects of utilization of the effective one-group LOQD problem for estimating the eigenvalue. We present numerical results to demonstrate the performance of the iteration algorithms in different types of reactor-physics problems. (authors)

A number of numerical methods, including inverse iteration, method of successive linear problem and nonlinear Arnoldi algorithm, are studied in this paper to solve a large scale nonlinear eigenvalueproblem arising from finite element analysis of resonant frequencies and external Q{sub e} values of a waveguide loaded cavity in the next-generation accelerator design. They present a nonlinear Rayleigh-Ritz iterative projection algorithm, NRRIT in short and demonstrate that it is the most promising approach for a model scale cavity design. The NRRIT algorithm is an extension of the nonlinear Arnoldi algorithm due to Voss. Computational challenges of solving such a nonlinear eigenvalueproblem for a full scale cavity design are outlined.

Highlights: • An acceleration technique for solving fine-group eigenvalue transport problems. • Coarse-group quasi transport theory to solve coarse-group eigenvalue transport problems. • Consistent and inconsistent formulations for coarse-group quasi transport theory. • Computational efficiency amplified by a factor of 2 using hybrid SGD for 1D BWR problem. - Abstract: In this paper, a new hybrid method for solving fine-group eigenvalue transport problems is developed. This method extends the subgroup decomposition method to efficiently couple a new coarse-group quasi transport theory with a set of fixed-source transport decomposition sweeps to obtain the fine-group transport solution. The advantages of the quasi transport theory are its high accuracy, straight-forward implementation and numerical stability. The hybrid method is analyzed for a 1D benchmark problem characteristic of boiling water reactors (BWR). It is shown that the method reproduces the fine-group transport solution with high accuracy while increasing the computational efficiency up to 12 times compared to direct fine-group transport calculations

The viewpoint is taken that Sturn--Liouville problem is specified and the problem of computing one or more of the eigenvalues and possibly the corresponding eigenfunctions is presented for solution. The procedure follows the construction of a computer code, although such a code is not constructed, intended to solve Sturn--Liouville eigenvalueproblems whether singular or nonsingular

This paper proposes an efficient implementation of the generalized symmetric eigenvalueproblem on multicore architecture. Based on a four-stage approach and tile algorithms, the original problem is first transformed into a standard symmetric

In this paper, the multigroup transport equations for solving the eigenvalues λ and K_e_f_f under two dimensional cylindrical coordinate are discussed. Aimed at the equations, the discretizing way combining discontinuous finite element method (DFE) with discrete ordinate method (SN) is developed, and the iterative algorithms and steps are studied. The numerical results show that the algorithms are efficient. (author)

The quantum mechanical ground state of electrons is described by Density Functional Theory, which leads to large minimization problems. An efficient minimization method uses a self-consistent field (SCF) solution of large eigenvalueproblems. The iterative Davidson algorithm is often used, and we...

Full Text Available This article is devoted to both theoretical and numerical studies of eigenvalues of regular fractional $2\\alpha $-order Sturm-Liouville problem where $\\frac{1}{2}< \\alpha \\leq 1$. In this paper, we implement the reproducing kernel method RKM to approximate the eigenvalues. To find the eigenvalues, we force the approximate solution produced by the RKM satisfy the boundary condition at $x=1$. The fractional derivative is described in the Caputo sense. Numerical results demonstrate the accuracy of the present algorithm. In addition, we prove the existence of the eigenfunctions of the proposed problem. Uniformly convergence of the approximate eigenfunctions produced by the RKM to the exact eigenfunctions is proven.

Eigenvalueproblems are extremely important in understanding dynamic processes such as vibrations and control systems. Large scale eigenvalueproblems can be very difficult to solve, especially if a large number of eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors need to be computed. For solving this problem a multigrid preconditioned algorithm is presented in {open_quotes}The Davidson Algorithm, preconditioning and misconvergence{close_quotes}. Another approach for solvingeigenvalueproblems is by developing efficient solutions for highly indefinite problems. In this paper we concentrate on the use of new highly indefinite multigrid algorithms for the eigenvalueproblem.

defined in the embedding space and the original surface problem. For open surfaces, we present a simple way to impose Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions while maintaining second-order accuracy. Convergence studies and a series of examples

This article discusses the use of frequency response surrogates for eigenvalue optimization problems in topology optimization that may be used to avoid solving the eigenvalueproblem. The motivation is to avoid complications that arise from multiple eigenvalues and the computational complexity as...

The numerical method for solving the nonlinear eigenvalueproblem has been developed by using the collocation Element-Free Galerkin Method (EFGM) and its performance has been numerically investigated. The results of computations show that the approximate solution of the nonlinear eigenvalueproblem can be obtained stably by using the developed method. Therefore, it can be concluded that the developed method is useful for solving the nonlinear eigenvalueproblem. (author)

1 - Description of program or function: This program solves an eigenvalueproblem zBx=Ax where A and B are real block tri-diagonal matrices. This eigenvalueproblem is derived from a reduced set of linear resistive MHD equations which is often employed to study tokamak plasma stability problem. 2 - Method of solution: Both the determinant and inverse iteration methods are employed. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The eigenvalue z must be real

We present a computational method to solve the RPA eigenvalue equation employing a uniform grid representation in three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates. The conjugate gradient method is used for this purpose as an interactive method for a generalized eigenvalueproblem. No construction of unoccupied orbitals is required in the procedure. We expect this method to be useful for systems lacking spatial symmetry to calculate accurate eigenvalues and transition matrix elements of a few low-lying excitations. Some applications are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the method, considering the simplified mean-field model as an example of a nuclear physics system and the electronic excitations in molecules with time-dependent density functional theory as an example of an electronic system. (author)

Highlights: • High performance solvers were applied within ERMM for the first time. • Accelerated fixed-point methods were developed that reduce computational times by 2–3. • A nonlinear, Newton-based ERMM led to similar improvement and more robustness. • A 3-D, SN-based ERMM shows how ERMM can apply fine-mesh methods to full-core analysis. - Abstract: This paper presents new algorithms for use in the eigenvalue response matrix method (ERMM) for reactor eigenvalueproblems. ERMM spatially decomposes a domain into independent nodes linked via boundary conditions approximated as truncated orthogonal expansions, the coefficients of which are response functions. In its simplest form, ERMM consists of a two-level eigenproblem: an outer Picard iteration updates the k-eigenvalue via balance, while the inner λ-eigenproblem imposes neutron balance between nodes. Efficient methods are developed for solving the inner λ-eigenvalueproblem within the outer Picard iteration. Based on results from several diffusion and transport benchmark models, it was found that the Krylov–Schur method applied to the λ-eigenvalueproblem reduces Picard solver times (excluding response generation) by a factor of 2–5. Furthermore, alternative methods, including Picard acceleration schemes, Steffensen’s method, and Newton’s method, are developed in this paper. These approaches often yield faster k-convergence and a need for fewer k-dependent response function evaluations, which is important because response generation is often the primary cost for problems using responses computed online (i.e., not from a precomputed database). Accelerated Picard iteration was found to reduce total computational times by 2–3 compared to the unaccelerated case for problems dominated by response generation. In addition, Newton’s method was found to provide nearly the same performance with improved robustness

There are a number of important scientific and engineering problems whose solutions take the form of an eigenvalue--eigenvector problem. Some notable examples include solutions to linear systems of ordinary differential equations, controllability of linear systems, finite element analysis, chemical kinetics, fitting ellipses to noisy data, and optimal estimation of attitude from unit vectors. In many of these problems, having knowledge of the eigenvalue and eigenvector Jacobians is either necessary or is nearly as important as having the solution itself. For instance, Jacobians are necessary to find the uncertainty in a computed eigenvalue or eigenvector estimate. This uncertainty, which is usually represented as a covariance matrix, has been well studied for problems similar to the eigenvalue and eigenvector problem, such as singular value decomposition. There has been substantially less research on the covariance of an optimal estimate originating from an eigenvalue-eigenvector problem. In this thesis we develop two general expressions for the Jacobians of eigenvalues and eigenvectors with respect to the elements of their parent matrix. The expressions developed make use of only the parent matrix and the eigenvalue and eigenvector pair under consideration. In addition, they are applicable to any general matrix (including complex valued matrices, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors) as long as the eigenvalues are simple. Alongside this, we develop expressions that determine the uncertainty in a vector estimate obtained from an eigenvalue-eigenvector problem given the uncertainty of the terms of the matrix. The Jacobian expressions developed are numerically validated with forward finite, differencing and the covariance expressions are validated using Monte Carlo analysis. Finally, the results from this work are used to determine covariance expressions for a variety of estimation problem examples and are also applied to the design of a dynamical system.

This paper concerns the quadratic inverse eigenvalueproblem (QIEP) of constructing real symmetric matrices M, C and K of size n × n, with M nonsingular, so that the quadratic matrix polynomial Q(λ) ≡ λ 2 M + λC + K has a completely prescribed set of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. It is shown via construction that the QIEP has a solution if and only if r 0, where r and δ are computable from the prescribed spectral data. A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a solution to the QIEP with M being positive definite is also established in a constructive way. Furthermore, two algorithms are developed: one is to solve the QIEP; another is to find a particular solution to the QIEP with the leading coefficient matrix being positive definite, which also provides us an approach to a simultaneous reduction of real symmetric matrix triple (M, C, K) by real congruence. Numerical results show that the two algorithms are feasible and numerically reliable

The volume is written for mathematicians interested in (numerical) linear algebra and in the solution of large sparse eigenvalueproblems, as well as for specialists in engineering, who use the considered algorithms in the investigation of eigenoscillations of structures, in reactor physics, etc. Some variants of the algorithms based on the idea of a gradient-type direction of movement are presented and their convergence properties are discussed. From this, a general strategy for the direct use of preconditionings for the eigenvalueproblem is derived. In this new approach the necessity of the solution of large linear systems is entirely avoided. Hence, these methods represent a new alternative to some other modern eigenvalue algorithms, as they show a slightly slower convergence on the one hand but essentially lower numerical and data processing problems on the other hand. A brief description and comparison of some well-known methods (i.e. simultaneous iteration, Lanczos algorithm) completes this volume. (author)

Full Text Available We study an eigenvalueproblem by a non-smooth critical point theory. Under general assumptions, we prove the existence of at least one solution as a minimum of a constrained energy functional. We apply some results on critical point theory with symmetry to provide a multiplicity result.

Calogero recently proposed a new and very powerful method for the solution of Sturm-Liouville eigenvalueproblems based on Lagrangian differentiation. In this paper, some results of a numerical investigation of Calogero's method for physical interesting problems are presented. It is then shown that one can 'invert' his differentiation technique to obtain a flexible, factorially convergent Lagrangian integration scheme which should be useful in a variety of problems, e.g. solution of integral equations

The nonlinear diffusion acceleration (NDA) method is an efficient and flexible transport iterative scheme for solving reactor-physics problems. This paper presents a fast iterative algorithm for solving multigroup neutron transport eigenvalueproblems in 1D slab geometry. The proposed method is defined by a multi-level system of equations that includes multigroup and effective one-group low-order NDA equations. The Eigenvalue is evaluated in the exact projected solution space of smallest dimensionality, namely, by solving the effective one- group eigenvalue transport problem. Numerical results that illustrate performance of the new algorithm are demonstrated. (author)

The structure and reactions of light nuclei represent fundamental and formidable challenges for microscopic theory based on realistic strong interaction potentials. Several ab initio methods have now emerged that provide nearly exact solutions for some nuclear properties. The ab initio no core shell model (NCSM) and the no core full configuration (NCFC) method, frame this quantum many-particle problem as a large sparse matrix eigenvalueproblem where one evaluates the Hamiltonian matrix in a basis space consisting of many-fermion Slater determinants and then solves for a set of the lowest eigenvalues and their associated eigenvectors. The resulting eigenvectors are employed to evaluate a set of experimental quantities to test the underlying potential. For fundamental problems of interest, the matrix dimension often exceeds 10{sup 10} and the number of nonzero matrix elements may saturate available storage on present-day leadership class facilities. We survey recent results and advances in solving this large sparse matrix eigenvalueproblem. We also outline the challenges that lie ahead for achieving further breakthroughs in fundamental nuclear theory using these ab initio approaches.

The structure and reactions of light nuclei represent fundamental and formidable challenges for microscopic theory based on realistic strong interaction potentials. Several ab initio methods have now emerged that provide nearly exact solutions for some nuclear properties. The ab initio no core shell model (NCSM) and the no core full configuration (NCFC) method, frame this quantum many-particle problem as a large sparse matrix eigenvalueproblem where one evaluates the Hamiltonian matrix in a basis space consisting of many-fermion Slater determinants and then solves for a set of the lowest eigenvalues and their associated eigenvectors. The resulting eigenvectors are employed to evaluate a set of experimental quantities to test the underlying potential. For fundamental problems of interest, the matrix dimension often exceeds 10 10 and the number of nonzero matrix elements may saturate available storage on present-day leadership class facilities. We survey recent results and advances in solving this large sparse matrix eigenvalueproblem. We also outline the challenges that lie ahead for achieving further breakthroughs in fundamental nuclear theory using these ab initio approaches.

This book provides state-of-the-art and interdisciplinary topics on solving matrix eigenvalueproblems, particularly by using recent petascale and upcoming post-petascale supercomputers. It gathers selected topics presented at the International Workshops on EigenvalueProblems: Algorithms; Software and Applications, in Petascale Computing (EPASA2014 and EPASA2015), which brought together leading researchers working on the numerical solution of matrix eigenvalueproblems to discuss and exchange ideas – and in so doing helped to create a community for researchers in eigenvalueproblems. The topics presented in the book, including novel numerical algorithms, high-performance implementation techniques, software developments and sample applications, will contribute to various fields that involve solving large-scale eigenvalueproblems.

An approximate Killing field may be defined on a compact, Riemannian geometry by solving an eigenvalueproblem for a certain elliptic operator. This paper studies the effect of small perturbations in the Riemannian metric on the resulting vector field. It shows that small metric perturbations, as measured using a Sobolev-type supremum norm on the space of Riemannian geometries on a fixed manifold, yield small perturbations in the approximate Killing field, as measured using a Hilbert-type square integral norm. It also discusses applications to the problem of computing the spin of a generic black hole in general relativity. (paper)

Lanczos algorithm is a commonly used method for finding a few extreme eigenvalues of symmetric matrices. It is effective if the wanted eigenvalues have large relative separations. If separations are small, several alternatives are often used, including the shift-invert Lanczos method, the preconditioned Lanczos method, and Davidson method. The shift-invert Lanczos method requires direct factorization of the matrix, which is often impractical if the matrix is large. In these cases preconditioned schemes are preferred. Many applications require solution of hundreds or thousands of eigenvalues of large sparse matrices, which pose serious challenges for both iterative eigenvalue solver and preconditioner. In this paper we will explore several preconditioned eigenvalue solvers and identify the ones suited for finding large number of eigenvalues. Methods discussed in this paper make up the core of a preconditioned eigenvalue toolkit under construction.

An algorithm is presented for the solution of the non-symmetric eigenvalueproblem. The algorithm is based on a divide-and-conquer procedure that provides initial approximations to the eigenpairs, which are then refined using Newton iterations. Since the smaller subproblems can be solved independently, and since Newton iterations with different initial guesses can be started simultaneously, the algorithm - unlike the standard QR method - is ideal for parallel computers. The author also reports on his investigation of deflation methods designed to obtain further eigenpairs if needed. Numerical results from implementations on a host of parallel machines (distributed and shared-memory) are presented

The eigenvalue economiser concept can be useful in solving large finite element transient heat flow problems in which the boundary heat transfer coefficients are constant. The usual economiser theory is equivalent to applying a unit thermal 'force' to each of a small sub-set of nodes on the finite element mesh, and then calculating sets of resulting steady state temperatures. Subsequently it is assumed that the required transient temperature distributions can be approximated by a linear combination of this comparatively small set of master temperatures. The accuracy of a reduced eigenvalue calculation depends upon a good choice of master nodes, which presupposes at least a little knowledge about what sort of shape is expected in the unknown temperature distributions. There are some instances, however, where a reasonably good idea exists of the required shapes, permitting a modification to the economiser process which leads to greater economy in the number of master temperatures. The suggested new approach is to use manually prescribed temperature distributions as the master distributions, rather than using temperatures resulting from unit thermal forces. Thus, with a little pre-knowledge one may write down a set of master distributions which, as a linear combination, can represent the required solution over the range of interest to a reasonable engineering accuracy, and using the minimum number of variables. The proposed modified eigenvalue economiser technique then uses the master distributions in an automatic way to arrive at the required solution. The technique is illustrated by some simple finite element examples

In a recent past some of us have developed a new algorithm for diagonalizing the shell model Hamiltonian which consists of an iterative sequence of diagonalization of sub-matrices of small dimensions. The method, apart from being easy to implement, is robust, yielding always stable numerical solutions, and free of ghost eigenvalues. Subsequently, we have endowed the algorithm with an importance sampling, which leads to a drastic truncation of the shell model space, while keeping the accuracy of the solutions under control. Applications to typical nuclei show that the sampling yields also an extrapolation law to the exact eigenvalues. Complementary to the shell model algorithm is a method we are developing for studying collective and non collective excitations. To this purpose we solve the nuclear eigenvalueproblem in a space which is the direct sum of Tamm-Dancoff n-phonon subspaces (n=0,1, ...N). The multiphonon basis is constructed by an iterative equation of motion method, which generates an over complete set of n-phonon states from the (n-1)-phonon basis. The redundancy is removed completely and exactly by a method based on the Choleski decomposition. The full Hamiltonian matrix comes out to have a simple structure and, therefore, can be drastically truncated before diagonalization by the mentioned importance sampling method. The phonon composition of the basis states allows removing naturally and maximally the spurious admixtures induced by the centre of mass motion. An application of the method to 16 O will be given for illustrative purposes. (authors)

Recent algorithmic advances combine moment-based acceleration and Jacobian-Free Newton-Krylov (JFNK) methods to accelerate the computation of the dominant eigenvalue in a k-eigenvalue calculation. In particular, NDA-NCA [1], builds a sequence of low-order (LO) diffusion-based eigenvalueproblems in which the solution converges to the true eigenvalue solution. Within NDA-NCA, the solution to the LO k-eigenvalueproblem is computed by solving a system of nonlinear equation using some variant of Newton's method. We show that we can speed up the solution to the LO problem dramatically by abandoning the JFNK method and exploiting the structure of the Jacobian matrix. (authors)

The response matrix method for reactor eigenvalueproblems is motivated as a technique for solving coarse mesh transport equations, and the classical approach of power iteration (PI) for solution is described. The method is then reformulated as a nonlinear system of equations, and the associated Jacobian is derived. A Jacobian-Free Newton-Krylov (JFNK) method is employed to solve the system, using an approximate Jacobian coupled with incomplete factorization as a preconditioner. The unpreconditioned JFNK slightly outperforms PI, and preconditioned JFNK outperforms both PI and Steffensen-accelerated PI significantly. (author)

For a bounded domain $\\Omega$ in a complete Riemannian manifold $M^n$, we study estimates for lower order eigenvalues of a clamped plate problem. We obtain universal inequalities for lower order eigenvalues. We would like to remark that our results are sharp.

textabstractA Jacobi-Davidson algorithm for computing selected eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors of the generalized eigenvalueproblem $Ax = lambda Bx$ is presented. In this paper the emphasis is put on the case where one of the matrices, say the B-matrix, is Hermitian positive definite. The

The main goal of this paper is to present a general iteration strategy for solving the discrete form of multidimensional neutron diffusion equations equivalent mathematically to an eigenvalueproblem. Usually a solution method is based on different levels of iterations. The presented matrix formalism allows us to visualize explicitly how the used matrix splitting influences the matrix structure in an eigenvalueproblem to be solved as well as the interdependence between inner and outer iteration within global iterations. Particular interactive strategies are illustrated by numerical results obtained for several reactor problems. (author). 21 refs, 32 figs, 15 tabs

The main goal of this paper is to present a general iteration strategy for solving the discrete form of multidimensional neutron diffusion equations equivalent mathematically to an eigenvalueproblem. Usually a solution method is based on different levels of iterations. The presented matrix formalism allows us to visualize explicitly how the used matrix splitting influences the matrix structure in an eigenvalueproblem to be solved as well as the interdependence between inner and outer iteration within global iterations. Particular interactive strategies are illustrated by numerical results obtained for several reactor problems. (author). 21 refs, 32 figs, 15 tabs.

The main goal of this paper is to present a general iteration strategy for solving the discrete form of multidimensional neutron diffusion equations equivalent mathematically to an eigenvalueproblem. Usually a solution method is based on different levels of iterations. The presented matrix formalism allows us to visualize explicitly how the used matrix splitting influences the matrix structure in an eigenvalueproblem to be solved as well as the interdependence between inner and outer iterations within global iterations. Particular iterative strategies are illustrated by numerical results obtained for several reactor problems. (author). 21 refs, 35 figs, 16 tabs

Fourier error analysis has been a standard technique for the stability and convergence analysis of linear and nonlinear iterative methods. Though the methods can be applied to Eigenvalueproblems too, all the Fourier convergence analyses have been performed only for fixed source problems and a Fourier convergence analysis for Eigenvalueproblem has never been reported. Lee et al proposed new 2-D/1-D coupling methods and they showed that the new ones are unconditionally stable while one of the two existing ones is unstable at a small mesh size and that the new ones are better than the existing ones in terms of the convergence rate. In this paper the convergence of method A in reference 4 for the diffusion Eigenvalueproblem was analyzed by the Fourier analysis. The Fourier convergence analysis presented in this paper is the first one applied to a neutronics eigenvalueproblem to the best of our knowledge

This manuscript introduces a novel approach to solving depletion perturbation theory problems without the need to set up or solve the generalized perturbation theory (GPT) equations. The approach, hereinafter denoted generalized perturbation theory free (GPT-Free), constructs a reduced order model (ROM) using methods based in perturbation theory and computes response sensitivity profiles in a manner that is independent of the number or type of responses, allowing for an efficient computation of sensitivities when many responses are required. Moreover, the reduction error from using the ROM is quantified in the GPT-Free approach by means of a Wilks' order statistics error metric denoted the K-metric. Traditional GPT has been recognized as the most computationally efficient approach for performing sensitivity analyses of models with many input parameters, e.g. when forward sensitivity analyses are computationally intractable. However, most neutronics codes that can solve the fundamental (homogenous) adjoint eigenvalueproblem do not have GPT capabilities unless envisioned during code development. The GPT-Free approach addresses this limitation by requiring only the ability to compute the fundamental adjoint. This manuscript demonstrates the GPT-Free approach for depletion reactor calculations performed in SCALE6 using the 7x7 UAM assembly model. A ROM is developed for the assembly over a time horizon of 990 days. The approach both calculates the reduction error over the lifetime of the simulation using the K-metric and benchmarks the obtained sensitivities using sample calculations. (authors)

Full Text Available There are well-known inequalities among the eigenvalues of Sturm–Liouville problems with periodic, semi-periodic, Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. In this paper, for an arbitrary coupled self-adjoint boundary condition, we identify two separated boundary conditions corresponding to the Dirichlet and Neumann conditions in the classical case, and establish analogous inequalities. It is also well-known that the lowest periodic eigenvalue is simple; here we prove a similar result for the general case. Moreover, we show that the algebraic and geometric multiplicities of the eigenvalues of self-adjoint regular Sturm–Liouville problems with coupled boundary conditions are the same. An important step in our approach is to obtain a representation of the fundamental solutions for sufficiently negative values of the spectral parameter. Our approach yields the existence and boundedness from below of the eigenvalues of arbitrary self-adjoint regular Sturm–Liouville problems without using operator theory.

We analyse the nonconforming Virtual Element Method (VEM) for the approximation of elliptic eigenvalueproblems. The nonconforming VEM allow to treat in the same formulation the two- and three-dimensional case.We present two possible formulations of the discrete problem, derived respectively by the nonstabilized and stabilized approximation of the L2-inner product, and we study the convergence properties of the corresponding discrete eigenvalueproblems. The proposed schemes provide a correct approximation of the spectrum and we prove optimal-order error estimates for the eigenfunctions and the usual double order of convergence of the eigenvalues. Finally we show a large set of numerical tests supporting the theoretical results, including a comparison with the conforming Virtual Element choice.

In this study, an inverse problem for Sturm-Liouville differential operators with discontinuities is studied when an eigenparameter appears not only in the differential equation but it also appears in the boundary condition. Uniqueness theorems of inverse problems according to the Prüfer angle, the Weyl function and two different eigenvalues sets are proved.

This thesis considers the problem of bounding and estimating the discrete portion of the spectrum of a linearly perturbed self-adjoint operator, M(x). It is supposed that one knows an incomplete set of data consisting in the first few coefficients of the Taylor series expansions of one or more of the eigenvalues of M(x) about x = 0. The foundations of the variational study of eigen-values are first presented. These are then used to construct the best possible upper bounds and estimates using various sets of given information. Lower bounds are obtained by estimating the error in the upper bounds. The extension of these bounds and estimates to the eigenvalues of the doubly-perturbed operator M(x,y) is discussed. The results presented have numerous practical application in the physical sciences, including problems in atomic physics and the theory of vibrations of acoustical and mechanical systems

We describe in this work the application of the modified power method for solve the multigroup neutron diffusion eigenvalueproblem in slab geometry considering two-dimensions for nuclear reactor global calculations. It is well known that criticality calculations can often be best approached by solvingeigenvalueproblems. The criticality in nuclear reactors physics plays a relevant role since establishes the ratio between the numbers of neutrons generated in successive fission reactions. In order to solve the eigenvalueproblem, a modified power method is used to obtain the dominant eigenvalue (effective multiplication factor (K{sub eff})) and its corresponding eigenfunction (scalar neutron flux), which is non-negative in every domain, that is, physically relevant. The innovation of this work is solving the neutron diffusion equation in analytical form for each new iteration of the power method. For solve this problem we propose to apply the Finite Fourier Sine Transform on one of the spatial variables obtaining a transformed problem which is resolved by well-established methods for ordinary differential equations. The inverse Fourier transform is used to reconstruct the solution for the original problem. It is known that the power method is an iterative source method in which is updated by the neutron flux expression of previous iteration. Thus, for each new iteration, the neutron flux expression becomes larger and more complex due to analytical solution what makes propose that it be reconstructed through an polynomial interpolation. The methodology is implemented to solve a homogeneous problem and the results are compared with works presents in the literature. (author)

One finding of cognitive research is that people do not automatically acquire usable knowledge by spending lots of time on task. Because students' knowledge hierarchy is more fragmented, "knowledge chunks" are smaller than those of experts. The limited capacity of short term memory makes the cognitive load high during problemsolving tasks, leaving few cognitive resources available for meta-cognition. The abstract nature of the laws of physics and the chain of reasoning required to draw meaningful inferences makes these issues critical. In order to help students, it is crucial to consider the difficulty of a problem from the perspective of students. We are developing and evaluating interactive problem-solving tutorials to help students in the introductory physics courses learn effective problem-solving strategies while solidifying physics concepts. The self-paced tutorials can provide guidance and support for a variety of problemsolving techniques, and opportunity for knowledge and skill acquisition.

the Schrödinger equation for the energy levels with a class of confining potentials [3] using Kato–Rellich ... Moreover,. QES problem has its own inner mathematical beauty – it can provide a good starting point for doing ... this technique for calculating the first- and second-order corrections for the ground state as well as the ...

In order to remove some singularities concerning the boundary conditions of one dimensional transport equation, a split form of transport equation describing the forward i.e. μ≥0, and a backward μ<0 directed neutrons is being proposed here. The eigenvalueproblem has also been considered here (author)

Interpersonal and cognitive skills, adaptability, and critical thinking can be developed through problemsolving and cooperative learning in technology education. These skills have been identified as significant needs of the workplace as well as for functioning in society. (SK)

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a new multilevel in space and energy diffusion (MSED method for solving multigroup diffusion eigenvalueproblems. The MSED method can be described as a PI scheme with three additional features: (1 a grey (one-group diffusion equation used to efficiently converge the fission source and eigenvalue, (2 a space-dependent Wielandt shift technique used to reduce the number of PIs required, and (3 a multigrid-in-space linear solver for the linear solves required by each PI step. In MSED, the convergence of the solution of the multigroup diffusion eigenvalueproblem is accelerated by performing work on lower-order equations with only one group and/or coarser spatial grids. Results from several Fourier analyses and a one-dimensional test code are provided to verify the efficiency of the MSED method and to justify the incorporation of the grey diffusion equation and the multigrid linear solver. These results highlight the potential efficiency of the MSED method as a solver for multidimensional multigroup diffusion eigenvalueproblems, and they serve as a proof of principle for future work. Our ultimate goal is to implement the MSED method as an efficient solver for the two-dimensional/three-dimensional coarse mesh finite difference diffusion system in the Michigan parallel characteristics transport code. The work in this paper represents a necessary step towards that goal.

This chapter aims to deconstruct some persistent myths about creativity: the myth of individualism and of the genius. By looking at literature that approaches creativity as a participatory and distributed phenomenon and by bringing empirical evidence from artists’ studios, the author presents a p......, what can educators at higher education learn from the ways creative groups solveproblems? How can artists contribute to inspiring higher education?......This chapter aims to deconstruct some persistent myths about creativity: the myth of individualism and of the genius. By looking at literature that approaches creativity as a participatory and distributed phenomenon and by bringing empirical evidence from artists’ studios, the author presents...... a perspective that is relevant to higher education. The focus here is on how artists solveproblems in distributed paths, and on the elements of creative collaboration. Creative problem-solving will be looked at as an ongoing dialogue that artists engage with themselves, with others, with recipients...

Algorithms for nonlinear eigenvalueproblems (EP's) often require solving self-consistently a large number of EP's. Convergence difficulties may occur if the solution is not sought in an appropriate region, if global constraints have to be satisfied, or if close or equal eigenvalues are present. Multigrid (MG) algorithms for nonlinear problems and for EP's obtained from discretizations of partial differential EP have often been shown to be more efficient than single level algorithms. This paper presents MG techniques and a MG algorithm for nonlinear Schrödinger Poisson EP's. The algorithm overcomes the above mentioned difficulties combining the following techniques: a MG simultaneous treatment of the eigenvectors and nonlinearity, and with the global constrains; MG stable subspace continuation techniques for the treatment of nonlinearity; and a MG projection coupled with backrotations for separation of solutions. These techniques keep the solutions in an appropriate region, where the algorithm converges fast, and reduce the large number of self-consistent iterations to only a few or one MG simultaneous iteration. The MG projection makes it possible to efficiently overcome difficulties related to clusters of close and equal eigenvalues. Computational examples for the nonlinear Schrödinger-Poisson EP in two and three dimensions, presenting special computational difficulties that are due to the nonlinearity and to the equal and closely clustered eigenvalues are demonstrated. For these cases, the algorithm requires O(qN) operations for the calculation of q eigenvectors of size N and for the corresponding eigenvalues. One MG simultaneous cycle per fine level was performed. The total computational cost is equivalent to only a few Gauss-Seidel relaxations per eigenvector. An asymptotic convergence rate of 0.15 per MG cycle is attained.

In numerous science and engineering applications a partial differential equation has to be solved on some fairly regular domain that allows the use of the method of separation of variables. In several orthogonal coordinate systems separation of variables applied to the Helmholtz, Laplace, or Schrödinger equation leads to a multiparameter eigenvalueproblem (MEP); important cases include Mathieu's system, Lamé's system, and a system of spheroidal wave functions. Although multiparameter approaches are exploited occasionally to solve such equations numerically, MEPs remain less well known, and the variety of available numerical methods is not wide. The classical approach of discretizing the equations using standard finite differences leads to algebraic MEPs with large matrices, which are difficult to solve efficiently. The aim of this paper is to change this perspective. We show that by combining spectral collocation methods and new efficient numerical methods for algebraic MEPs it is possible to solve such problems both very efficiently and accurately. We improve on several previous results available in the literature, and also present a MATLAB toolbox for solving a wide range of problems.

for Research and Technological Development (FP7), our results indicate that the problem-solving potential of a search strategy increases with the diversity of existing knowledge of the partners in a consortium and with the experience of the partners involved. Moreover, we identify a substantial negative effect...... dispersed. Hence, firms need to collaborate. We shed new light on collaborative search strategies led by firms in general and for solving environmental problems in particular. Both topics are largely absent in the extant open innovation literature. Using data from the European Seventh Framework Program...

In inverse scattering theory, transmission eigenvalues can be seen as the extension of the notion of resonant frequencies for impenetrable objects to the case of penetrable dielectrics. The transmission eigenvalueproblem is a relatively late arrival to the spectral theory of partial differential equations. Its first appearance was in 1986 in a paper by Kirsch who was investigating the denseness of far-field patterns for scattering solutions of the Helmholtz equation or, in more modern terminology, the injectivity of the far-field operator [1]. The paper of Kirsch was soon followed by a more systematic study by Colton and Monk in the context of developing the dual space method for solving the inverse scattering problem for acoustic waves in an inhomogeneous medium [2]. In this paper they showed that for a spherically stratified media transmission eigenvalues existed and formed a discrete set. Numerical examples were also given showing that in principle transmission eigenvalues could be determined from the far-field data. This first period of interest in transmission eigenvalues was concluded with papers by Colton et al in 1989 [3] and Rynne and Sleeman in 1991 [4] showing that for an inhomogeneous medium (not necessarily spherically stratified) transmission eigenvalues, if they existed, formed a discrete set. For the next seventeen years transmission eigenvalues were ignored. This was mainly due to the fact that, with the introduction of various sampling methods to determine the shape of an inhomogeneous medium from far-field data, transmission eigenvalues were something to be avoided and hence the fact that transmission eigenvalues formed at most a discrete set was deemed to be sufficient. In addition, questions related to the existence of transmission eigenvalues or the structure of associated eigenvectors were recognized as being particularly difficult due to the nonlinearity of the eigenvalueproblem and the special structure of the associated transmission

as a general approach to problemsolving. We apply these Simonian ideas to organisational issues, specifically new organisational forms. Specifically, Simonian ideas allow us to develop a morphology of new organisational forms and to point to some design problems that characterise these forms.......Two of Herbert Simon's best-known papers are 'The Architecture of Complexity' and 'The Structure of Ill-Structured Problems.' We discuss the neglected links between these two papers, highlighting the role of decomposition in the context of problems on which constraints have been imposed...

Teaching is replete with problemsolving. Problemsolving as a skill, however, is seldom addressed directly within music teacher education curricula, and research in music education has not examined problemsolving systematically. A framework detailing problem-solving component skills would provide a needed foundation. I observed problem solving…

Problemsolving research has encountered an impasse. Since the seminal work of Newell und Simon (1972) researchers do not seem to have made much theoretical progress (Batchelder and Alexander, 2012; Ohlsson, 2012). In this paper we argue that one factor that is holding back the field is the widespread rejection of introspection among cognitive…

Problemsolving spans all grade levels and content areas, as evidenced by this compilation of projects from schools across the United States. In one project, high school girls built a solar-powered tent to serve their city's homeless population. In another project, 4th graders explored historic Jamestown to learn about the voices lost to history.…

In this note, we present some interesting observations on the Schiffer's conjecture, interior transmission eigenvalueproblem and their connections to singular and nonsingular invisibility cloaking problems of acoustic waves.

This book presents calculated solutions to problems in fundamental and applied electrochemistry. It uses industrial data to illustrate scientific concepts and scientific knowledge to solve practical problems. It is subdivided into three parts. The first uses modern basic concepts, the second studies the scientific basis for electrode and electrolyte thermodynamics (including E-pH diagrams and the minimum energy involved in transformations) and the kinetics of rate processes (including the energy lost in heat and in parasite reactions). The third part treats larger problems in electrolysis and power generation, as well as in corrosion and its prevention. Each chapter includes three sections: the presentation of useful principles; some twenty problems with their solutions; and, a set of unsolved problems

This paper presents some modern and interdisciplinary concepts about creativity and creative processes of special relevance for Operational Research workers. Central publications in the area Creativity-Operational Research are shortly reviewed. Some creative tools and the Creative ProblemSolving...... approach are also discussed. Finally, some applications of these concepts and tools are outlined. Some central references are presented for further study of themes related to creativity or creative tools....

Full Text Available This paper presents some modern and interdisciplinary concepts about creativity and creative processes of special relevance for Operational Research workers. Central publications in the area Creativity-Operational Research are shortly reviewed. Some creative tools and the Creative ProblemSolving approach are also discussed. Finally, some applications of these concepts and tools are outlined. Some central references are presented for further study of themes related to creativity or creative tools.

Elementary Baecklund transformations (BTs) are described for a discretization of the Zakharov-Shabat eigenvalueproblem (a special case of the Ablowitz-Ladik eigenvalueproblem). Elementary BTs allow the process of adding bound states to a system (i.e., the add-one-soliton BT) to be 'factorized' to solving two simpler sub-problems. They are used to determine the effect on the scattering data when bound states are added. They are shown to provide a method of calculating discrete solitons-this is achieved by constructing a lattice of intermediate potentials, with the parameters used in the calculation of the lattice simply related to the soliton scattering data. When the potentials, S n , T n , in the system are related by S n = -T n , they enable simple derivations to be obtained of the add-one-soliton BT and the nonlinear superposition formula

In the numerical method to compute the matching data which are necessary for resistive MHD stability analyses, it is required to solve the eigenvalueproblem and the associated singular equation. An iterative method is developed to solve the eigenvalueproblem and the singular equation. In this method, the eigenvalueproblem is replaced with an equivalent nonlinear equation and a singular equation is derived from Newton's method for the nonlinear equation. The multi-grid method (MGM), a high speed iterative method, can be applied to this method. The convergence of the eigenvalue and the eigenvector, and the CPU time in this method are investigated for a model equation. It is confirmed from the numerical results that this method is effective for solving the eigenvalueproblem and the singular equation with numerical stability and high accuracy. It is shown by improving the MGM that the CPU time for this method is 50 times shorter than that of the direct method. (author)

In this paper a general iteration strategy for solving the discrete form of multidimensional neutron diffusion equations is described. Usually the solution method is based on the system of inner and outer iterations. The presented matrix formalism allows us to visualize clearly, how the used matrix splitting influences the structure of the matrix in an eigenvalueproblem to be solved as well as the independence between inner and outer iterations within global iterations. To keep the page limit, the present version of the paper consists only with first three of five sections given in the original paper under the same title (which will be published soon). (author). 13 refs

Full Text Available We show that many results about the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a quasilinear elliptic equation in the non-singular case can be extended to the singular case. Among these results, we have the first eigenvalue is associated to a $C^{1,alpha}(Omega$ eigenfunction which is positive and unique (up to a multiplicative constant, that is, the first eigenvalue is simple. Moreover the first eigenvalue is isolated and is the unique positive eigenvalue associated to a non-negative eigenfunction. We also prove some variational properties of the second eigenvalue.

This book presents the fundamental concepts of electromagnetism through problems with a brief theoretical introduction at the beginning of each chapter. The present book has a strong didactic character. It explains all the mathematical steps and the theoretical concepts connected with the development of the problem. It guides the reader to understand the employed procedures to learn to solve the exercises independently. The exercises are structured in a similar way: The chapters begin with easy problems increasing progressively in the level of difficulty. This book is written for students of physics and engineering in the framework of the new European Plans of Study for Bachelor and Master and also for tutors and lecturers. .

The authors consider a class of Nonlinear EigenvalueProblems (N.L.E.P.) associated with Elliptic Variational Inequalities (E.V.I.). First the authors introduce the main tools for a local study of branches of solutions; the authors extend the linearization process required in the case of equations. Next the authors prove the existence of arcs of solutions close to regular vs singular points, and determine their local behavior up to the first order. Finally, the authors discuss the connection between their regularity condition and some stability concept. 37 references, 6 figures

Full Text Available We study nonlinear eigenvalueproblems of the type Ã¢ÂˆÂ’div(a(xÃ¢ÂˆÂ‡u=g(ÃŽÂ»,x,u in Ã¢Â„ÂN, where a(x is a degenerate nonnegative weight. We establish the existence of solutions and we obtain information on qualitative properties as multiplicity and location of solutions. Our approach is based on the critical point theory in Sobolev weighted spaces combined with a Caffarelli-Kohn-Nirenberg-type inequality. A specific minimax method is developed without making use of Palais-Smale condition.

The paper presents an analysis of the dynamic eigenvalueproblem of concrete slab road surface. A sample concrete slab was modelled using Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis software and calculated with Finite Element Method. The slab was set on a one-parameter elastic subsoil, for which the modulus of elasticity was separately calculated. The eigen frequencies and eigenvectors (as maximal vertical nodal displacements) were presented. On the basis of the results of calculations, some basic recommendations for designers of concrete road surfaces were offered.

Eigenvalueproblems are ubiquitous in computer vision, covering a very broad spectrum of applications ranging from estimation problems in multi-view geometry to image segmentation. Few other linear algebra problems have a more mature set of numerical routines available and many computer vision libraries leverage such tools extensively. However, the ability to call the underlying solver only as a "black box" can often become restrictive. Many 'human in the loop' settings in vision frequently exploit supervision from an expert, to the extent that the user can be considered a subroutine in the overall system. In other cases, there is additional domain knowledge, side or even partial information that one may want to incorporate within the formulation. In general, regularizing a (generalized) eigenvalueproblem with such side information remains difficult. Motivated by these needs, this paper presents an optimization scheme to solve generalized eigenvalueproblems (GEP) involving a (nonsmooth) regularizer. We start from an alternative formulation of GEP where the feasibility set of the model involves the Stiefel manifold. The core of this paper presents an end to end stochastic optimization scheme for the resultant problem. We show how this general algorithm enables improved statistical analysis of brain imaging data where the regularizer is derived from other 'views' of the disease pathology, involving clinical measurements and other image-derived representations.

Many industrial production work systems have increased in complexity, and their new business model scompete on innovation, rather than low cost.At a medical device production facility committed to Lean Production, a research project was carried out to use Appreciative Inquiry to better engage...... employee strengths in continuou simprovements of the work system. The research question was: “How can Lean problemsolving and Appreciative Inquiry be combined for optimized work system innovation?” The research project was carried out as a co-creation process with close cooperation between researcher...

This paper presents an innovative hybrid Monte-Carlo-Deterministic method denoted by the SUBSPACE method designed for improving the efficiency of hybrid methods for reactor analysis applications. The SUBSPACE method achieves its high computational efficiency by taking advantage of the existing correlations between desired responses. Recently, significant gains in computational efficiency have been demonstrated using this method for source driven problems. Within this work the mathematical theory behind the SUBSPACE method is introduced and extended to address core wide level k-eigenvalueproblems. The method's efficiency is demonstrated based on a three-dimensional quarter-core problem, where responses are sought on the pin cell level. The SUBSPACE method is compared to the FW-CADIS method and is found to be more efficient for the utilized test problem because of the reason that the FW-CADIS method solves a forward eigenvalueproblem and an adjoint fixed-source problem while the SUBSPACE method only solves an adjoint fixed-source problem. Based on the favorable results obtained here, we are confident that the applicability of Monte Carlo for large scale reactor analysis could be realized in the near future. (authors)

Although the Monte Carlo method has been extensively used for criticality/Eigenvalueproblems, a reliable, robust, and efficient convergence diagnostics method is still desired. Most methods are based on integral parameters (multiplication factor, entropy) and either condense the local distribution information into a single value (e.g., entropy) or even disregard it. We propose to employ the detailed cycle-by-cycle local flux evolution obtained by using mesh tally mechanism to assess the source and flux convergence. By applying a linear regression model to each individual mesh in a mesh tally for convergence diagnostics, a global convergence criterion can be obtained. We exemplify this method on two problems and obtain promising diagnostics results. (author)

The solution of the large, sparse, symmetric eigenvalueproblem, Ax = {lambda}x, is central to many scientific applications. Among many iterative methods that attempt to solve this problem, the Lanczos and the Generalized Davidson (GD) are the most widely used methods. The Lanczos method builds an orthogonal basis for the Krylov subspace, from which the required eigenvectors are approximated through a Rayleigh-Ritz procedure. Each Lanczos iteration is economical to compute but the number of iterations may grow significantly for difficult problems. The GD method can be considered a preconditioned version of Lanczos. In each step the Rayleigh-Ritz procedure is solved and explicit orthogonalization of the preconditioned residual ((M {minus} {lambda}I){sup {minus}1}(A {minus} {lambda}I)x) is performed. Therefore, the GD method attempts to improve convergence and robustness at the expense of a more complicated step.

We develop a parallel Jacobi-Davidson approach for finding a partial set of eigenpairs of large sparse polynomial eigenvalueproblems with application in quantum dot simulation. A Jacobi-Davidson eigenvalue solver is implemented based on the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc). The eigensolver thus inherits PETSc's efficient and various parallel operations, linear solvers, preconditioning schemes, and easy usages. The parallel eigenvalue solver is then used to solve higher degree polynomial eigenvalueproblems arising in numerical simulations of three dimensional quantum dots governed by Schroedinger's equations. We find that the parallel restricted additive Schwarz preconditioner in conjunction with a parallel Krylov subspace method (e.g. GMRES) can solve the correction equations, the most costly step in the Jacobi-Davidson algorithm, very efficiently in parallel. Besides, the overall performance is quite satisfactory. We have observed near perfect superlinear speedup by using up to 320 processors. The parallel eigensolver can find all target interior eigenpairs of a quintic polynomial eigenvalueproblem with more than 32 million variables within 12 minutes by using 272 Intel 3.0 GHz processors.

Full Text Available This paper discusses spectral method with the tensor-product nodal basis at the Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto points for solving the Steklov eigenvalueproblem. A priori error estimates of spectral method are discussed, and based on the work of Melenk and Wohlmuth (2001, a posterior error estimator of the residual type is given and analyzed. In addition, this paper combines the shifted-inverse iterative method and spectral method to establish an efficient scheme. Finally, numerical experiments with MATLAB program are reported.

A crucial issue for the new EU common fisheries policy is how to solve the discard problem. Through a study of the institutional set up and the arrangements for solving the discard problem in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway, the article identifies the discard problem as related...

An algebraic approach to the inverse eigenvalueproblem for a quantum system with a dynamical group is formulated for the first time. One dimensional problem is treated explicitly in detail for both the finite dimensional and infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces. For the finite dimensional Hilbert space, the su(2) algebraic representation is used; while for the infinite dimensional Hilbert space, the Heisenberg-Weyl algebraic representation is employed. Fourier expansion technique is generalized to the generator space, which is suitable for analysis of irregular spectra. The polynormial operator basis is also used for complement, which is appropriate for analysis of some simple Hamiltonians. The proposed new approach is applied to solve the classical inverse Sturn-Liouville problem and to study the problems of quantum regular and irregular spectra. (orig.)

Modal analysis has been efficiently used to study different problems in reactor physics. In this sense, several eigenvalueproblems can be defined for neutron transport equation: the λ-modes, the γ-modes and the α-modes. However, for simplicity, the neutron diffusion equation is used as approximation of each one of these equations that they have been discretized by a high order finite elements. The obtained algebraic eigenproblems are large problems and have to be solved using iterative methods. In this work, we analyze two methods. The first one is the Krylov-Schur method and the second one is the modified block Newton method. The comparison of modes and the performance of these methods have been studied in two benchmark problems, a homogeneous 3D reactor and the 3D Langenbuch reactor. (author)

The use of exact albedo boundary conditions in numerical methods applied to one-dimensional one-speed discrete ordinates (S n ) eigenvalueproblems for nuclear reactor global calculations is described. An albedo operator that treats the reflector region around a nuclear reactor core implicitly is described and exactly was derived. To illustrate the method's efficiency and accuracy, it was used conventional linear diamond method with the albedo option to solve typical model problems. (author)

The first edition of this book gave a systematic exposition of the Weinstein method of calculating lower bounds of eigenvalues by means of intermediate problems. This second edition presents new developments in the framework of the material contained in the first edition, which is retained in somewhat modified form.

Helping students to construct robust understanding of physics concepts and develop good solving skills is a central goal in many physics classrooms. This thesis examine students' problemsolving abilities from different perspectives and explores strategies to scaffold students' learning. In studies involving analogical problem solving…

This activity was created to address a lack of problem-solving activities for elementary children. A "monorail" activity from the Evening Science Program for K-3 Students and Parents program is presented to illustrate the problem-solving format. Designed for performance at stations by groups of two students. (LZ)

Borrajo and Raquel Fuentetaja, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid on the meta-level search architecture for finding good combinations of representations and...heuristics on a problem-by-problem basis. The other is with Carlos Linares also from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid on developing effective

This paper presents multigrid (MG) techniques for nonlinear eigenvalueproblems (EP) and emphasizes an MG algorithm for a nonlinear Schrodinger EP. The algorithm overcomes the mentioned difficulties combining the following techniques: an MG projection coupled with backrotations for separation of solutions and treatment of difficulties related to clusters of close and equal eigenvalues; MG subspace continuation techniques for treatment of the nonlinearity; an MG simultaneous treatment of the eigenvectors at the same time with the nonlinearity and with the global constraints. The simultaneous MG techniques reduce the large number of self consistent iterations to only a few or one MG simultaneous iteration and keep the solutions in a right neighborhood where the algorithm converges fast.

The combination of regulatory changes and increased waste volume has resulted in design changes in waste processing systems. Problems resulting from waste segregation as a basis for design philosophy are considered, and solutions to the problems are suggested. The importance of operator training, maintenance procedures, good housekeeping, water management, and offsite shipment of solids is discussed. Flowsheets for radioactive waste processing systems for boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors are included

A modified difference and a Numerov-like scheme have been introduced in a shooting algorithm for the determination of the (higher-lying) eigenvalues of Schroedinger equations and Sturm-Liouville problems. Some numerical experiments are introduced. Time measurements have been performed. The proposed algorithms are compared with other previously introduced shooting schemes. The structure of the eigenvalue error is discussed. ((orig.))

The work presented in this paper is concerned with the development of an efficient MG algorithm for the solution of an elliptic, generalized eigenvalueproblem. The application is specifically applied to the multigroup neutron diffusion equation which is discretized by utilizing the Nodal Expansion Method (NEM). The underlying relaxation method is the Power Method, also known as the (Outer-Inner Method). The inner iterations are completed using Multi-color Line SOR, and the outer iterations are accelerated using Chebyshev Semi-iterative Method. Furthermore, the MG algorithm utilizes the consistent homogenization concept to construct the restriction operator, and a form function as a prolongation operator. The MG algorithm was integrated into the reactor neutronic analysis code NESTLE, and numerical results were obtained from solving production type benchmark problems.

as a general approach to problemsolving. We apply these Simonian ideas to organizational issues, specifically new organizational forms. Specifically, Simonian ideas allow us to develop a morphology of new organizational forms and to point to some design problems that characterize these forms.Keywords: Herbert...... Simon, problem-solving, new organizational forms. JEL Code: D23, D83......Two of Herbert Simon's best-known papers are "The Architecture of Complexity" and "The Structure of Ill-Structured Problems." We discuss the neglected links between these two papers, highlighting the role of decomposition in the context of problems on which constraints have been imposed...

A numerical technique is presented for locating the eigenvalues of two point linear differential eigenvalueproblems. The technique is designed to search for complex eigenvalues belonging to complex operators. With this method, any domain of the complex eigenvalue plane could be scanned and the eigenvalues within it, if any, located. For an application of the method, the eigenvalues of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation of the plane Poiseuille flow are determined within a specified portion of the c-plane. The eigenvalues for alpha = 1 and R = 10,000 are tabulated and compared for accuracy with existing solutions.

Discusses how to use general semantics formulations to improve problemsolving at home or at work--methods come from the areas of artificial intelligence/computer science, engineering, operations research, and psychology. (PA)

Full Text Available Small amplitude vibrations of a structure completely filled with a fluid are considered. Describing the structure by displacements and the fluid by its pressure field, the free vibrations are governed by a non-self-adjoint eigenvalueproblem. This survey reports on a framework for taking advantage of the structure of the non-symmetric eigenvalueproblem allowing for a variational characterization of its eigenvalues. Structure-preserving iterative projection methods of the the Arnoldi and of the Jacobi–Davidson type and an automated multi-level sub-structuring method are reviewed. The reliability and efficiency of the methods are demonstrated by a numerical example.

This original Dover publication is the companion to a new edition of the author's Classical Electromagnetism: Second Edition. The latter volume will feature only basic answers; this book will contain some problems from the reissue as well as many other new ones. All feature complete, worked-out solutions and form a valuable source of problem-solving material for students.

In this article, Ajay Ramful and Siew Yin Ho explain the meaning of quantitative reasoning, describing how it is used in the to solve mathematical problems. They also describe a diagrammatic approach to represent relationships among quantities and provide examples of problems and their solutions.

This paper reports on methods of students' justifications of their solution to a problem in the area of combinatorics. From the analysis of the problemsolving of 150 students in a variety of settings from high-school to graduate study, four major forms of reasoning evolved: (1) Justification by Cases, (2) Inductive Argument, (3) Elimination…

If there is no single best way to attract new customers and retain current customers, there is surely an easy way to lose them: fail to solve the problems that arise in nearly every buyer-supplier relationship, or solve them in an unsatisfactory manner. Yet, all too frequently, companies do just that. Either we deny that a problem exists, we exert all our efforts to pin the blame elsewhere, or we "Band-Aid" the problem instead of fixing it, almost guaranteeing that we will face it again and again.

Intelligent information processing signifies an opportunity of having man's intellectual activity executed on the computer, in which inference, in place of ordinary calculation, is used as the basic operational mechanism for such an information processing. Many inference rules are derived from syllogisms in formal logic. The problem of programming this inference function is referred to as a problemsolving. Although logically inference and problem-solving are in close relation, the calculation ability of current computers is on a low level for inferring. For clarifying the relation between inference and computers, nonmonotonic logic has been considered. The paper deals with the above topics. 16 references.

This research has focused on a parallelization of the mathematical library for a generalized eigenvalueproblem for real band matrices on IBM SP and Hitachi SR2201. The origin of the library is LASO (Lanczos Algorithm with Selective Orthogonalization), which was developed on the basis of Block Lanczos method for standard eigenvalueproblem for real band matrices at Texas University. We adopted D.O.F. (Degree Of Freedom) decomposition method for a parallelization of this library, and evaluated its parallel performance. (author)

Full Text Available Several stabilized finite element methods for the Stokes eigenvalueproblem based on the lowest equal-order finite element pair are numerically investigated. They are penalty, regular, multiscale enrichment, and local Gauss integration method. Comparisons between them are carried out, which show that the local Gauss integration method has good stability, efficiency, and accuracy properties, and it is a favorite method among these methods for the Stokes eigenvalueproblem.

The eigenvalueproblem for a thin linearly elastic shell, of thickness 2e, clamped along its lateral surface is considered. Under the geometric assumption on the middle surface of the shell that the space of inextensional displacements is non-trivial, the authors obtain, as ε→0,the eigenvalueproblem for the two-dimensional"flexural shell"model if the dimension of the space is infinite. If the space is finite dimensional, the limits of the eigenvalues could belong to the spectra of both flexural and membrane shells. The method consists of rescaling the variables and studying the problem over a fixed domain. The principal difficulty lies in obtaining suitable a priori estimates for the scaled eigenvalues.

NESTLE is a FORTRAN77 code that solves the few-group neutron diffusion equation utilizing the Nodal Expansion Method (NEM). NESTLE can solve the eigenvalue (criticality); eigenvalue adjoint; external fixed-source steady-state; or external fixed-source. or eigenvalue initiated transient problems. The code name NESTLE originates from the multi-problem solution capability, abbreviating Nodal Eigenvalue, Steady-state, Transient, Le core Evaluator. The eigenvalueproblem allows criticality searches to be completed, and the external fixed-source steady-state problem can search to achieve a specified power level. Transient problems model delayed neutrons via precursor groups. Several core properties can be input as time dependent. Two or four energy groups can be utilized, with all energy groups being thermal groups (i.e. upscatter exits) if desired. Core geometries modelled include Cartesian and Hexagonal. Three, two and one dimensional models can be utilized with various symmetries. The non-linear iterative strategy associated with the NEM method is employed. An advantage of the non-linear iterative strategy is that NSTLE can be utilized to solve either the nodal or Finite Difference Method representation of the few-group neutron diffusion equation

This book, written by an accomplished female mathematician, is the second to explore nonstandard mathematical problems – those that are not directly solved by standard mathematical methods but instead rely on insight and the synthesis of a variety of mathematical ideas. It promotes mental activity as well as greater mathematical skills, and is an ideal resource for successful preparation for the mathematics Olympiad. Numerous strategies and techniques are presented that can be used to solve intriguing and challenging problems of the type often found in competitions. The author uses a friendly, non-intimidating approach to emphasize connections between different fields of mathematics and often proposes several different ways to attack the same problem. Topics covered include functions and their properties, polynomials, trigonometric and transcendental equations and inequalities, optimization, differential equations, nonlinear systems, and word problems. Over 360 problems are included with hints, ...

This book is unique in that its stress is not on the mastery of a programming language, but on the importance and value of interactive problemsolving. The authors focus on several specific interest worlds: mathematics, computer science, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and games; however, their approach can serve as a model that may be applied easily to other fields as well. Those who are interested in symbolic computing will find that Interactive ProblemSolving Using LOGO provides a gentle introduction from which one may move on to other, more advanced computational frameworks or more

unknown stationary state wave functions (ψ) are expanded, viz. ψ = ∑N ... λ being a user-defined scalar that takes care of exponential overflow or underflow. Clearly, as ... Two new strings Si and Sk (the children strings) are then created by an.

Full Text Available The output feedback eigenvalue assignment problem for discrete-time systems is considered. The problem is formulated first as an unconstrained minimization problem, where a three-term nonlinear conjugate gradient method is proposed to find a local solution. In addition, a cut to the objective function is included, yielding an inequality constrained minimization problem, where a logarithmic barrier method is proposed for finding the local solution. The conjugate gradient method is further extended to tackle the eigenvalue assignment problem for the two cases of decentralized control systems and control systems with time delay. The performance of the methods is illustrated through various test examples.

The severe and long-lasting symptoms of schizophrenia are often the cause of severe disability. Environmental stress such as life events and the practical problems people face in their daily can worsen the symptoms of schizophrenia. Deficits in problemsolving skills in people with schizophrenia affect their independent and interpersonal functioning and impair their quality of life. As a result, therapies such as problemsolving therapy have been developed to improve problemsolving skills for people with schizophrenia. To review the effectiveness of problemsolving therapy compared with other comparable therapies or routine care for those with schizophrenia. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (September 2006), which is based on regular searches of BIOSIS, CENTRAL, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. We inspected references of all identified studies for further trials. We included all clinical randomised trials comparing problemsolving therapy with other comparable therapies or routine care. We extracted data independently. For homogenous dichotomous data we calculated random effects, relative risk (RR), 95% confidence intervals (CI) and, where appropriate, numbers needed to treat (NNT) on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) using a random effects statistical model. We included only three small trials (n=52) that evaluated problemsolving versus routine care, coping skills training or non-specific interaction. Inadequate reporting of data rendered many outcomes unusable. We were unable to undertake meta-analysis. Overall results were limited and inconclusive with no significant differences between treatment groups for hospital admission, mental state, behaviour, social skills or leaving the study early. No data were presented for global state, quality of life or satisfaction. We found insufficient evidence to confirm or refute the benefits of problemsolving therapy as an additional

Historically, many of the most important mathematical concepts arose from problems that were recreational in origin. This book takes advantage of that fact, using recreational mathematics - problems, puzzles and games - to teach students how to think critically. Encouraging active participation rather than just observation, the book focuses less on mathematical results than on how these results can be applied to thinking about problems and solving them. Each chapter contains a diverse array of problems in such areas as logic, number and graph theory, two-player games of strategy, solitaire ga

The coarse-mesh rebalance method is adopted for Monte Carlo schemes for aiming at accelerating the convergence of a source iteration process. At every completion of the Monte Carlo game for one batch of neutron histories, the scaling factor for the neutron flux is calculated to achieve the neutron balance in each coarse-mesh zone into which the total system is divided. This rebalance factor is multiplied to the weight of each fission source neutron in the coarse-mesh zone for playing the next Monte Carlo game. The numerical examples have shown that the coarse-mesh rebalance Monte Carlo calculation gives a good estimate of the eigenvalue already after several batches with a negligible extra computer time compared to the standard Monte Carlo. 5 references. (U.S.)

Equilibrium configurations of liquid crystals in finite containments are minimizers of the thermodynamic free energy of the system. It is important to be able to track the equilibrium configurations as the temperature of the liquid crystals decreases. The path of the minimal energy configuration at bifurcation points can be computed from the null space of a large sparse symmetric matrix. We describe a new variant of the implicitly restarted Lanczos method that is well suited for the computation of extreme eigenvalues of a large sparse symmetric matrix, and we use this method to determine the desired null space. Our implicitly restarted Lanczos method determines adoptively a polynomial filter by using Leja shifts, and does not require factorization of the matrix. The storage requirement of the method is small, and this makes it attractive to use for the present application.

This paper presents a bibliography of 263 references related to human problemsolving, arranged by subject matter. The references were taken from PsycInfo and Academic Premier data-base. Journal papers, book chapters, and dissertations are included. The topics include human development, education, neuroscience, and research in applied settings. It…

Although many common problem-solving errors within the realm of school mathematics have been previously identified, a compilation of such errors is not readily available within learning disabilities textbooks, mathematics education texts, or teacher's manuals for school mathematics texts. Using data on error frequencies drawn from both the Fourth…

A new method and a code MARG2D have been developed to solve the 2-dimensional Newcomb equation which plays an important role in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability analysis in an axisymmetric toroidal plasma such as a tokamak. In the present formulation, an eigenvalueproblem is posed for the 2-D Newcomb equation, where the weight function (the kinetic energy integral) and the boundary conditions at rational surfaces are chosen so that an eigenfunction correctly behaves as the linear combination of the small solution and the analytical solutions around each of the rational surfaces. Thus, the difficulty on solving the 2-D Newcomb equation has been resolved. By using the MARG2D code, the ideal MHD marginally stable state can be identified for a 2-D toroidal plasma. The code is indispensable on computing the outer-region matching data necessary for the resistive MHD stability analysis. Benchmark with ERATOJ, an ideal MHD stability code, has been carried out and the MARG2D code demonstrates that it indeed identifies both stable and marginally stable states against ideal MHD motion. (author)

We discuss computational methods for computing the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of single energy-group neutral particle transport (S N ) problems in homogeneous slab geometry, with an arbitrary scattering anisotropy of order L. These eigensolutions are important when exact (or very accurate) solutions are desired for coarse spatial cell problems demanding rapid execution times. Three methods, one of which is 'new', are presented for determining the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of such S N problems. In the first method, separation of variables is directly applied to the S N equations. In the second method, common characteristics of the S N and P N-1 equations are used. In the new method, the eigenvalues and eigenvectors can be computed provided that the cell-interface Green's functions (transmission and reflection factors) are known. Numerical results for S 4 test problems are given to compare the new method with the existing methods

We discuss computational methods for computing the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of single energy-group neutral particle transport (S N ) problems in homogeneous slab geometry, with an arbitrary scattering anisotropy of order L. These eigensolutions are important when exact (or very accurate) solutions are desired for coarse spatial cell problems demanding rapid execution times. Three methods, one of which is 'new', are presented for determining the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of such S N problems. In the first method, separation of variables is directly applied to the S N equations. In the second method, common characteristics of the S N and P N-1 equations are used. In the new method, the eigenvalues and eigenvectors can be computed provided that the cell-interface Green's functions (transmission and reflection factors) are known. Numerical results for S 4 test problems are given to compare the new method with the existing methods. (author)

The research goal was to determine whether worldview relates to traditional and real-world genetics problemsolving. Traditionally, scientific literacy emphasized content knowledge alone because it was sufficient to solve traditional problems. The contemporary definition of scientific literacy is, "The knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision-making, participation in civic and cultural affairs and economic productivity" (NRC, 1996). An expanded definition of scientific literacy is needed to solve socioscientific issues (SSI), complex social issues with conceptual, procedural, or technological associations with science. Teaching content knowledge alone assumes that students will find the scientific explanation of a phenomenon to be superior to a non-science explanation. Formal science and everyday ways of thinking about science are two different cultures (Palmer, 1999). Students address this rift with cognitive apartheid, the boxing away of science knowledge from other types of knowledge (Jedege & Aikenhead, 1999). By addressing worldview, cognitive apartheid may decrease and scientific literacy may increase. Introductory biology students at the University of Minnesota during fall semester 2005 completed a written questionnaire-including a genetics content-knowledge test, four genetic dilemmas, the Worldview Assessment Instrument (WAI) and some items about demographics and religiosity. Six students responded to the interview protocol. Based on statistical analysis and interview data, this study concluded the following: (1) Worldview, in the form of metaphysics, relates to solving traditional genetic dilemmas. (2) Worldview, in the form of agency, relates to solving traditional genetics problems. (3) Thus, worldview must be addressed in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

A simple numerical method for the determination of Schrodinger equation eigenvalues is introduced. It is based on a marching process that starts from an arbitrary point, proceeds in two opposite directions simultaneously and stops after a tolerance criterion is met. The method is applied to solving several 1D potential problems including symmetric…

The heart of the fifth generation computer will be powerful mechanisms for problemsolving and inference. A deduction-oriented language is to be designed, which will form the core of the whole computing system. The language is based on predicate logic with the extended features of structuring facilities, meta structures and relational data base interfaces. Parallel computation mechanisms and specialized hardware architectures are being investigated to make possible efficient realization of the language features. The project includes research into an intelligent programming system, a knowledge representation language and system, and a meta inference system to be built on the core. 30 references.

International audience; Inverse problems of recovering the coefficients of Sturm–Liouville problems with the eigenvalue parameter linearly contained in one of the boundary conditions are studied: 1) from the sequences of eigenvalues and norming constants; 2) from two spectra. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the solvability of these inverse problems are obtained.

Conventional Monte Carlo (MC) methods for radiation transport computations are 'history-based', which means that one particle history at a time is tracked. Simulations based on such methods suffer from thread divergence on the graphics processing unit (GPU), which severely affects the performance of GPUs. To circumvent this limitation, event-based vectorized MC algorithms can be utilized. A versatile software test-bed, called ARCHER - Accelerated Radiation-transport Computations in Heterogeneous Environments - was used for this study. ARCHER facilitates the development and testing of a MC code based on the vectorized MC algorithm implemented on GPUs by using NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). The ARCHER GPU code was designed to solve a neutron eigenvalueproblem and was tested on a NVIDIA Tesla M2090 Fermi card. We found that although the vectorized MC method significantly reduces the occurrence of divergent branching and enhances the warp execution efficiency, the overall simulation speed is ten times slower than the conventional history-based MC method on GPUs. By analyzing detailed GPU profiling information from ARCHER, we discovered that the main reason was the large amount of global memory transactions, causing severe memory access latency. Several possible solutions to alleviate the memory latency issue are discussed. (authors)

Conventional Monte Carlo (MC) methods for radiation transport computations are 'history-based', which means that one particle history at a time is tracked. Simulations based on such methods suffer from thread divergence on the graphics processing unit (GPU), which severely affects the performance of GPUs. To circumvent this limitation, event-based vectorized MC algorithms can be utilized. A versatile software test-bed, called ARCHER - Accelerated Radiation-transport Computations in Heterogeneous Environments - was used for this study. ARCHER facilitates the development and testing of a MC code based on the vectorized MC algorithm implemented on GPUs by using NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). The ARCHER{sub GPU} code was designed to solve a neutron eigenvalueproblem and was tested on a NVIDIA Tesla M2090 Fermi card. We found that although the vectorized MC method significantly reduces the occurrence of divergent branching and enhances the warp execution efficiency, the overall simulation speed is ten times slower than the conventional history-based MC method on GPUs. By analyzing detailed GPU profiling information from ARCHER, we discovered that the main reason was the large amount of global memory transactions, causing severe memory access latency. Several possible solutions to alleviate the memory latency issue are discussed. (authors)

Full Text Available We demonstrate that eigenvalueproblems for ordinary differential equations can be recast in a formulation suitable for the solution by polynomial collocation. It is shown that the well-posedness of the two formulations is equivalent in the regular as well as in the singular case. Thus, a collocation code equipped with asymptotically correct error estimation and adaptive mesh selection can be successfully applied to compute the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions efficiently and with reliable control of the accuracy. Numerical examples illustrate this claim.

In this paper, aimed at the neutron transport equations of eigenvalueproblem under 2-D cylindrical geometry on unstructured grid, the discrete scheme of Sn discrete ordinate and discontinuous finite is built, and the parallel computation for the scheme is realized on MPI systems. Numerical experiments indicate that the designed parallel algorithm can reach perfect speedup, it has good practicality and scalability. (authors)

Full Text Available We study the ordinary differential equation $x''+lambda a(tf(x=0$ with the boundary conditions $x(0=0$ and $x'(1=int_{eta}^{1}x'(sdg(s$. We characterize values of $lambda$ for which boundary-value problem has a positive solution. Also we find appropriate intervals for $lambda$ so that there are two positive solutions.

Full Text Available In the solution of boundary value problems, usually zero eigenvalue is ignored. This case also happens in calculating the eigenvalues of matrices, so that we would often like to find the nonzero solutions of the linear system A X = λ X when λ ≠ 0 . But λ = 0 implies that det A = 0 for X ≠ 0 and then the rank of matrix A is reduced at least one degree. This comment can similarly be stated for boundary value problems. In other words, if at least one of the eigens of equations related to the main problem is considered zero, then one of the solutions will be specified in advance. By using this note, first we study a class of special functions and then apply it for the potential, heat, and wave equations in spherical coordinate. In this way, some practical examples are also given.

Traditionally, companies have managed their constituencies with specific processes: marketing to customers, procuring from vendors, developing HR policies for employees, and so on. The problem is, such processes focus on repeatability and compliance, so they can lead to stagnation. Inviting your constituencies to collectively help you solveproblems and exploit opportunities--"co-creation"--is a better approach. It allows you to continually tap the skills and insights of huge numbers of stakeholders and develop new ways to produce value for all. The idea is to provide stakeholders with platforms (physical and digital forums) on which they can interact, get them to start exploring new experiences and connections, and let the system grow organically. A co-creation initiative by a unit of Becton, Dickinson and Company demonstrates how this works. A global leader in syringes, BD set out to deepen its ties with hospital customers and help them reduce the incidence of infections from unsafe injection and syringe disposal practices. The effort began with a cross-functional internal team, brought in the hospital procurement and supply managers BD had relationships with, and then reached out to hospitals' infection-prevention and occupational health leaders. Eventually product designers, nurses, sustainability staffers, and even hospital CFOs were using the platform, contributing data that generated new best practices and reduced infections.

With the current curriculum focus on correlating classroom problemsolving lessons to real-world contexts, are LEGO robotics an effective problemsolving tool? This present study was designed to investigate this question and to ascertain what problemsolving strategies primary students engaged with when working with LEGO robotics and whether the…

Most educators claim that problemsolving is important, but they take very different perspective on it and there is little agreement on how it should be taught. This article aims to sort out the different perspectives and discusses problemsolving as a goal, a method, and a skill. As a goal, problemsolving should not be limited to well-structured…

The paper concerns the isotropic interior transmission eigenvalue (ITE) problem. This problem is not elliptic, but we show that, using the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map, it can be reduced to an elliptic one. This leads to the discreteness of the spectrum as well as to certain results on a possible location of the transmission eigenvalues. If the index of refraction \\sqrt{n(x)} is real, then we obtain a result on the existence of infinitely many positive ITEs and the Weyl-type lower bound on its counting function. All the results are obtained under the assumption that n(x) - 1 does not vanish at the boundary of the obstacle or it vanishes identically, but its normal derivative does not vanish at the boundary. We consider the classical transmission problem as well as the case when the inhomogeneous medium contains an obstacle. Some results on the discreteness and localization of the spectrum are obtained for complex valued n(x).

Fourier error analysis has been a standard technique for the stability and convergence analysis of linear and nonlinear iterative methods. Lee et al proposed new 2- D/1-D coupling methods and demonstrated several advantages of the new methods by performing a Fourier convergence analysis of the methods as well as two existing methods for a fixed source problem. We demonstrated the Fourier convergence analysis of one of the 2-D/1-D coupling methods applied to a neutron diffusion eigenvalueproblem. However, the technique cannot be used directly to analyze the convergence of the other 2-D/1-D coupling methods since some algorithm-specific features were used in our previous study. In this paper we generalized the Fourier convergence analysis technique proposed and analyzed the convergence of the 2-D/1-D coupling methods applied to a neutron diffusion Eigenvalueproblem using the generalized technique

A complete set of eigenfunctions is introduced within the Riemann-Hilbert formalism for spectral problems associated to some solvable nonlinear evolution equations. In particular, we consider the time-independent and time-dependent Schrödinger problems which are related to the KdV and KPI equations possessing solitons and lumps, respectively. Non-standard scalar products, orthogonality and completeness relations are derived for these problems. The complete set of eigenfunctions is used for perturbation theory and bifurcation analysis of eigenvalues supported by the potentials under perturbations. We classify two different types of bifurcations of new eigenvalues and analyze their characteristic features. One type corresponds to thresholdless generation of solitons in the KdV equation, while the other predicts a threshold for generation of lumps in the KPI equation.

In this paper, we consider optimal design problems that involve shape optimization. The goal is to determine the shape of a certain structure such that it is either as rigid or as soft as possible. To achieve this goal we combine two new ideas for an efficient solution of the problem. First, we replace the eigenvalueproblem with an approximation by using inverse iteration. Second, we use a level set method but rather than propagating the front we use constrained optimization methods combined with multilevel continuation techniques. Combining these two ideas we obtain a robust and rapid method for the solution of the optimal design problem

There are many errors can be identified when students solving mathematics problems, particularly in solving the probabilistic problem. This present study aims to investigate students’ difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem. It focuses on analyzing and describing students errors during solving the problem. This research used the qualitative method with case study strategy. The subjects in this research involve ten students of 9th grade that were selected by purposive sampling. Data in this research involve students’ probabilistic problem-solving result and recorded interview regarding students’ difficulties in solving the problem. Those data were analyzed descriptively using Miles and Huberman steps. The results show that students have difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem and can be divided into three categories. First difficulties relate to students’ difficulties in understanding the probabilistic problem. Second, students’ difficulties in choosing and using appropriate strategies for solving the problem. Third, students’ difficulties with the computational process in solving the problem. Based on the result seems that students still have difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem. It means that students have not able to use their knowledge and ability for responding probabilistic problem yet. Therefore, it is important for mathematics teachers to plan probabilistic learning which could optimize students probabilistic thinking ability.

Full Text Available Most educators agree that problemsolving is among the most meaningful and importantkinds of learning and thingking. That is, the central focus of learning and instructionshould be learning to solveproblems. There are several warrants supporting that claims.They are authenticity, relevance, problemsolving engages deeper learning angtherefore enhances meaning making, and constructed to represent problems (problemsolving is more meaningful. It is the reason why we must provide teaching and learningto make studentâ€™s problemsolving skill in progress. There are many informationprocessingmodels of problemsolving, such as simplified model of the problem-solvingprocess by Gicks, Polyaâ€™s problemsolving process etc. One of them is IDEAL problemsolving. Each letter of IDEAL is stand for an aspect of thinking that is important forproblem solving. IDEAL is identify problem, Define Goal, Explore possible strategies,Anticipate outcme and Act, and Look back and learn. Using peer interaction andquestion prompt in small group in IDEAL problemsolving teaching and Learning canimprove problemsolving skill.Kata kunci: IDEAL ProblemSolving, Interaksi Sebaya, Pertanyaan Penuntun, KelompokKecil.

We consider a two-phase problem in thermal conductivity: inclusions filled with a material of conductivity σ 1 are layered in a body of conductivity σ 2 . We address the shape sensitivity of the first eigenvalue associated with Dirichlet boundary conditions when both the boundaries of the inclusions and the body can be modified. We prove a differentiability result and provide the expressions of the first and second order derivatives. We apply the results to the optimal design of an insulated body. We prove the stability of the optimal design thanks to a second order analysis. We also continue the study of an extremal eigenvalueproblem for a two-phase conductor in a ball initiated by Conca et al. (Appl. Math. Optim. 60(2):173-184, 2009) and pursued in Conca et al. (CANUM 2008, ESAIM Proc., vol. 27, pp. 311-321, EDP Sci., Les Ulis, 2009).

Mathematics teachers often experience difficulties in teaching students to become skilled problem solvers. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of two interactive computer programs for high school mathematics problemsolving. Both programs present students with problems accompanied by instruction

This article outlines a method of problemsolving which considers holistic solutions to complex problems. Soft systems methodology allows people involved in the problem situation to have control over the decision-making process.

A methodology to analyze the properties of the first (largest) eigenvalue and its eigenvector is developed for large symmetric random sparse matrices utilizing the cavity method of statistical mechanics. Under a tree approximation, which is plausible for infinitely large systems, in conjunction with the introduction of a Lagrange multiplier for constraining the length of the eigenvector, the eigenvalueproblem is reduced to a bunch of optimization problems of a quadratic function of a single variable, and the coefficients of the first and the second order terms of the functions act as cavity fields that are handled in cavity analysis. We show that the first eigenvalue is determined in such a way that the distribution of the cavity fields has a finite value for the second order moment with respect to the cavity fields of the first order coefficient. The validity and utility of the developed methodology are examined by applying it to two analytically solvable and one simple but non-trivial examples in conjunction with numerical justification.

In the present work we propose a heuristic construction of a transport equation for neutrons with anisotropic scattering considering only the radial cylinder dimension. The eigenvalues of the solutions of the equation correspond to the positive values for the one dimensional case. The central idea of the procedure is the application of the S N method for the discretisation of the angular variable followed by the application of the zero order Hankel transformation. The basis the construction of the scattering terms in form of an integro-differential equation for stationary transport resides in the hypothesis that the eigenvalues that compose the elementary solutions are independent of geometry for a homogeneous medium. We compare the solutions for the cartesian one dimensional problem for an infinite cylinder with azimuthal symmetry and linear anisotropic scattering for two cases. (orig.)

Classical solvers for the dense symmetric eigenvalueproblem suffer from the first step, which involves a reduction to tridiagonal form that is dominated by the cost of accessing memory during the panel factorization. The solution is to reduce the matrix to a banded form, which then requires the eigenvalues of the banded matrix to be computed. The standard divide and conquer algorithm can be modified for this purpose. The paper combines this insight with tile algorithms that can be scheduled via a dynamic runtime system to multicore architectures. A detailed analysis of performance and accuracy is included. Performance improvements of 14-fold and 4-fold speedups are reported relative to LAPACK and Intel\\'s Math Kernel Library.

This article shows how a reflection method can be used to find the eigenvalues of a matrix by transforming the matrix to tridiagonal form. The method of conjugate gradients is used to find the smallest eigenvalue and the corresponding eigenvector of symmetric positive-definite band matrices. Topics considered include the computational scheme of the reflection method, the organization of parallel calculations by the reflection method, the computational scheme of the conjugate gradient method, the organization of parallel calculations by the conjugate gradient method, and the effectiveness of parallel algorithms. It is concluded that it is possible to increase the overall effectiveness of the multiprocessor electronic computers by either letting the newly available processors of a new problem operate in the multiprocessor mode, or by improving the coefficient of uniform partition of the original information

Midwifery profession is required to bring solutions to problems and a midwife is expected to be an assertive person and to develop midwifery care. This study was planned to examine the relationship between assertiveness and problem-solving skills of midwives. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 201 midwives between July 2008 and February 2009 in the city center of Sivas. The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) and ProblemSolving Inventory (PSI) were used to determine the level of assertiveness and problem-solving skills of midwives. Statistical methods were used as mean, standard deviation, percentage, Student's T, ANOVA and Tukey HSD, Kruskal Wallis, Fisher Exact, Pearson Correlation and Chi-square tests and P problem-solving skills training. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the RAS and PSI scores. The RAS scores decreased while the problem-solving scores increased (r: -0451, P problemsolving skills of midwives, and midwives who were assertive solved their problems better than did others. Assertiveness and problem-solving skills training will contribute to the success of the midwifery profession. Midwives able to solveproblems, and display assertive behaviors will contribute to the development of midwifery profession.

Problemsolving is one of the main competences we seek to teach students at school for use in their future lives. However, when dealing with mathematical problems, teachers encounter a wide variety of difficulties. To foster students' problem-solving skills, the authors developed "strategy keys." Strategy keys can serve as material to…

This qualitative study investigates what problemsolving strategies interns learn from their clinical teachers during their internships. Twenty-four interns who completed their internship in the elementary grades shared what problemsolving strategies had the greatest impact upon them in learning how to deal with problems during their internship.…

A student is engaged in (non-routine) problemsolving when there is no clear pathway to the solution. In contrast to routine problems, non-routine ones cannot be solved through the direct application of a standard procedure. Consider the following problem: In a quiz you get two points for each

Problemsolving is a critical element of learning physics. However, traditional instruction often emphasizes the quantitative aspects of problemsolving such as equations and mathematical procedures rather than qualitative analysis for selecting appropriate concepts and principles. This study describes the development and evaluation of an instructional approach called Conceptual ProblemSolving (CPS) which guides students to identify principles, justify their use, and plan their solution in w...

Full Text Available In this paper, we study the existence of positive solutions of a three-point integral boundary value problem (BVP for the following second-order differential equation u''(t + \\lambda a(tf(u(t = 0; 0 0 is a parameter, 0 eigenvalue intervals of the nonlinear boundary value problem are considered, some sufficient conditions for the existence of at least one positive solutions are established.

Recent neuroimaging studies have implicated prefrontal and parietal cortices for mathematical problemsolving. Mental arithmetic tasks have been used extensively to study neural correlates of mathematical reasoning. In the present study we used geometric problem sets (tangram tasks) that require executive planning and visuospatial reasoning without any linguistic representation interference. We used portable optical brain imaging (functional near infrared spectroscopy--fNIR) to monitor hemodynamic changes within anterior prefrontal cortex during tangram tasks. Twelve healthy subjects were asked to solve a series of computerized tangram puzzles and control tasks that required same geometric shape manipulation without problemsolving. Total hemoglobin (HbT) concentration changes indicated a significant increase during tangram problemsolving in the right hemisphere. Moreover, HbT changes during failed trials (when no solution found) were significantly higher compared to successful trials. These preliminary results suggest that fNIR can be used to assess cortical activation changes induced by geometric problemsolving. Since fNIR is safe, wearable and can be used in ecologically valid environments such as classrooms, this neuroimaging tool may help to improve and optimize learning in educational settings.

Versions of GMRES with deflation of eigenvalues are applied to lattice QCD problems. Approximate eigenvectors corresponding to the smallest eigenvalues are generated at the same time that linear equations are solved. The eigenvectors improve convergence for the linear equations, and they help solve other right-hand sides

Use the IAQ ProblemSolving Tool to learn about the connection between health complaints and common solutions in schools. This resource provides an easy, step-by-step process to start identifying and resolving IAQ problems found at your school.

This study aims to investigate the ability of pre-service class teacher at University of Petrain solving mathematical problems using Polya's Techniques, their level of problemsolving skills in daily-life issues. The study also investigates the correlation between their ability to solve mathematical problems and their level of problem solving…

The paper contains the results of investigation of a parallel global optimization algorithm combined with a dimension reduction scheme. This allows solving multidimensional problems by means of reducing to data-independent subproblems with smaller dimension solved in parallel. The new element implemented in the research consists in using several graphic accelerators at different computing nodes. The paper also includes results of solvingproblems of well-known multiextremal test class GKLS on Lobachevsky supercomputer using tens of thousands of GPU cores.

This paper analyzes the thought process involved in problemsolving and its categorization as creative thinking as defined by psychologist R. Weisberg (2006). Additionally, the notion of insight, sometimes present in unconscious creative thinking and often leading to creative ideas, is discussed in the context of geometry problemsolving. In…

Twenty-first century teaching and learning focus on the fundamental skills of critical thinking and problemsolving, creativity and innovation, and collaboration and communication. Metacognition is a crucial aspect of both problemsolving and critical thinking, but it is often difficult to get students to engage in authentic metacognitive…

This paper examines possible improvement to problemsolving skills as a function of playing the video game "Portal 2." Stealth assessment is used in the game to evaluate students' problemsolving abilities--specifically basic and flexible rule application. The stealth assessment measures will be validated against commonly accepted…

Problemsolving is a critical element of learning physics. However, traditional instruction often emphasizes the quantitative aspects of problemsolving such as equations and mathematical procedures rather than qualitative analysis for selecting appropriate concepts and principles. This study describes the development and evaluation of an…

The main theoretical position of this paper is that it is the explicit problem-solving support in concept mapping software that produces a stronger effect in problem-solving performance than the implicit support afforded by the graphical functionality of concept mapping software. Explicit

This short paper discusses typical engineering tasks and problemsolving methods, based on a field study of engineering tasks at a Danish engineering firm. The field study has identified ten classes of design tasks and in this paper these classes are related to problemsolving methods. The descri...

This article is about Complex ProblemSolving (CPS), its history in a variety of research domains (e.g., human problemsolving, expertise, decision making, and intelligence), a formal definition and a process theory of CPS applicable to the interdisciplinary field. CPS is portrayed as (a) knowledge acquisition and (b) knowledge application…

The purpose of this article was to examine problemsolving strategies among primary school teachers. The researchers employed survey research design to examine their problemsolving strategies. The participants of this study consisted of 120 primary school teachers from a public university in Peninsula Malaysia who enrolled in a 4-year Graduating…

A model of expertise in physics problemsolving was tested on undergraduate science, physics, and engineering majors enrolled in an introductory-level physics course. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to expertise in physics problemsolving including motivation, metacognitive planning,…

Readiness activities are described which are designed to help learning disabled (LD) students learn to perform computations in story problems. Activities proceed from concrete objects to numbers and involve the students in devising story problems. The language experience approach is incorporated with the enactive, iconic, and symbolic levels of…

Full Text Available In this work we will study the eigenvalues for a fourth order elliptic equation with $p(x$-growth conditions $\\Delta^2_{p(x} u=\\lambda |u|^{p(x-2} u$, under Neumann boundary conditions, where $p(x$ is a continuous function defined on the bounded domain with $p(x>1$. Through the Ljusternik-Schnireleman theory on $C^1$-manifold, we prove the existence of infinitely many eigenvalue sequences and $\\sup \\Lambda =+\\infty$, where $\\Lambda$ is the set of all eigenvalues.

Full Text Available Teaching how to solveproblems – from solving simple equations to solving difficult competition tasks – has been one of the greatest challenges for mathematics education for many years. Trying to find an effective method is an important educational task. Among others, the question arises as to whether a method in which students help each other might be useful. The present article describes part of an experiment that was designed to determine the effects of cooperative teaching techniques on the development of problem-solving skills.

Many theories require augmenting the Standard Model with additional scalar fields with large order one couplings. We present a new solution to the hierarchy problem for these scalar fields. We explore parity- and Z_2-symmetric theories where the Standard Model Higgs potential has two vacua. The parity or Z_2 copy of the Higgs lives in the minimum far from the origin while our Higgs occupies the minimum near the origin of the potential. This approach results in a theory with multiple light scalar fields but with only a single hierarchy problem, since the bare mass is tied to the Higgs mass by a discrete symmetry. The new scalar does not have a new hierarchy problem associated with it because its expectation value and mass are generated by dimensional transmutation of the scalar quartic coupling. The location of the second Higgs minimum is not a free parameter, but is rather a function of the matter content of the theory. As a result, these theories are extremely predictive. We develop this idea in the context of a solution to the strong CP problem. Lastly, we show this mechanism postdicts the top Yukawa to be within 1σ of the currently measured value and predicts scalar color octets with masses in the range 9-200 TeV

How do we model and improve technical problemsolving, such as network subnetting? This paper reports an experimental study that tested several hypotheses derived from Kolb's experiential learning cycle and Huber's problemsolving model. As subjects solved a network subnetting problem, they mapped their mental processes according to Huber's…

This is a study of individual differences in environmental problem-solving, the probable roots of these differences, and their implications for the education of resource professionals. A group of student Resource Managers were required to elaborate their conception of a complex resource issue (Spruce Budworm management) and to generate some ideas on management policy. Of particular interest was the way in which subjects dealt with the psychosocial aspects of the problem. A structural and content analysis of responses indicated a predominance of relatively compartmentalized styles, a technological orientation, and a tendency to ignore psychosocial issues. A relationship between problem-solving behavior and personal (psychosocial) style was established which, in the context of other evidence, suggests that problem-solving behavior is influenced by more deep seated personality factors. The educational implication drawn was that problem-solving cannot be viewed simply as an intellectual-technical activity but one that involves, and requires the education of, the whole person.

The authors describe a new nodal method for multigroup slab-geometry discrete ordinates S N eigenvalueproblems that is completely free from all spatial truncation errors. The unknowns in the method are the node-edge angular fluxes, the node-average angular fluxes, and the effective multiplication factor k eff . The numerical values obtained for these quantities are exactly those of the dominant analytic solution of the S N eigenvalueproblem apart from finite arithmetic considerations. This method is based on the use of the standard balance equation and two nonstandard auxiliary equations. In the nonmultiplying regions, e.g., the reflector, we use the multigroup spectral Green's function (SGF) auxiliary equations. In the fuel regions, we use the multigroup spectral diamond (SD) auxiliary equations. The SD auxiliary equation is an extension of the conventional auxiliary equation used in the diamond difference (DD) method. This hybrid characteristic of the SD-SGF method improves both the numerical stability and the convergence rate

The Problem-Based Learning model as it is practiced at Aalborg University grew out of expectations for future graduates in the 1970s. Many changes and developments have taken place since then in the ways the principles and methodologies are practiced, due to changes in society and governmental...... regulations. However, the basic educational principles and methodologies are still the same and seem to meet expectations from society and academic work places today. This is what surveys and research, done regularly, document. (see for instance Krogh, 2013)....

When you're planning something big, problems appear rather quickly. We hear of them on a daily basis. The bigger or more complex a task, the more we have to deal with complicated, multidisciplinary task formulations. In many cases it is architecture, including urban and spatial planning, but also politics and all types of organizational forms, irrespective of whether they are public authorities or private enterprises, which are expected to deliver functional solutions for such challenges. This is precisely where this book is helpful. It introduces a methodology for developing target-specific,

It is generally accepted nowadays that History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) is useful in understanding scientific concepts, theories and even some experiments. Problem-solving strategies are a significant topic, since students' careers depend on their skill to solveproblems. These are the reasons for addressing the question of whether problemsolving could be improved by means of HPS. Three typical problems in introductory courses of mechanics—the inclined plane, the simple pendulum and the Atwood machine—are taken as the object of the present study. The solving strategies of these problems in the eighteenth and nineteenth century constitute the historical component of the study. Its philosophical component stems from the foundations of mechanics research literature. The use of HPS leads us to see those problems in a different way. These different ways can be tested, for which experiments are proposed. The traditional solving strategies for the incline and pendulum problems are adequate for some situations but not in general. The recourse to apparent weights in the Atwood machine problem leads us to a new insight and a solving strategy for composed Atwood machines. Educational implications also concern the development of logical thinking by means of the variety of lines of thought provided by HPS.

The common reactor core neutronics problems have fundamental neutron space, energy spectrum solutions. Typically the most positive eigenvalue is associated with an all-positive flux for the pseudo-steady-state condition (k/sub eff/), or the critical state is to be effected by selective adjustment of some variable such as the fuel concentration. With sophistication in reactor analysis has come the demand for solutions of other, uncommon neutronics problems. Importance functionss are needed for sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, as for ratios of intergral reaction rates such as the fuel conversion (breeding) ratio. The dominant higher harmonic solution is needed in stability analysis. Typically the desired neutronics solution must contain negative values to qualify as a higher harmonic or to satisfy a fixed source containing negative values. Both regular and adjoint solutions are of interest as are special integrals of the solutions to support analysis

A class of inverse problems in remote sensing can be characterized by Q = F(x), where F is a nonlinear and noninvertible (or hard to invert) operator, and the objective is to infer the unknowns, x, from the observed quantities, Q. Since the number of observations is usually greater than the number of unknowns, these problems are formulated as optimization problems, which can be solved by a variety of techniques. The feasibility of neural networks for solving such problems is presently investigated. As an example, the problem of finding the atmospheric ozone profile from measured ultraviolet radiances is studied.

Computational complexity is a serious bottleneck for the design process in virtually any engineering area. While migration from prototyping and experimental-based design validation to verification using computer simulation models is inevitable and has a number of advantages, high computational costs of accurate, high-fidelity simulations can be a major issue that slows down the development of computer-aided design methodologies, particularly those exploiting automated design improvement procedures, e.g., numerical optimization. The continuous increase of available computational resources does not always translate into shortening of the design cycle because of the growing demand for higher accuracy and necessity to simulate larger and more complex systems. Accurate simulation of a single design of a given system may be as long as several hours, days or even weeks, which often makes design automation using conventional methods impractical or even prohibitive. Additional problems include numerical noise often pr...

Problemsolving is a critical element of learning physics. However, traditional instruction often emphasizes the quantitative aspects of problemsolving such as equations and mathematical procedures rather than qualitative analysis for selecting appropriate concepts and principles. This study describes the development and evaluation of an instructional approach called Conceptual ProblemSolving (CPS) which guides students to identify principles, justify their use, and plan their solution in writing before solving a problem. The CPS approach was implemented by high school physics teachers at three schools for major theorems and conservation laws in mechanics and CPS-taught classes were compared to control classes taught using traditional problemsolving methods. Information about the teachers' implementation of the approach was gathered from classroom observations and interviews, and the effectiveness of the approach was evaluated from a series of written assessments. Results indicated that teachers found CPS easy to integrate into their curricula, students engaged in classroom discussions and produced problem solutions of a higher quality than before, and students scored higher on conceptual and problemsolving measures.

Full Text Available Problemsolving is a critical element of learning physics. However, traditional instruction often emphasizes the quantitative aspects of problemsolving such as equations and mathematical procedures rather than qualitative analysis for selecting appropriate concepts and principles. This study describes the development and evaluation of an instructional approach called Conceptual ProblemSolving (CPS which guides students to identify principles, justify their use, and plan their solution in writing before solving a problem. The CPS approach was implemented by high school physics teachers at three schools for major theorems and conservation laws in mechanics and CPS-taught classes were compared to control classes taught using traditional problemsolving methods. Information about the teachers’ implementation of the approach was gathered from classroom observations and interviews, and the effectiveness of the approach was evaluated from a series of written assessments. Results indicated that teachers found CPS easy to integrate into their curricula, students engaged in classroom discussions and produced problem solutions of a higher quality than before, and students scored higher on conceptual and problemsolving measures.

At the end of primary school all children more of less know what a percentage is, but yet they often struggle with percentage problems. This article describes a study in which students of 13 and 14 years old were given a written test with percentage problems and a week later were interviewed about the way they solved some of these problems. In a…

We describe three activities that help undergraduates (pre-service teachers) to develop scientific vocabulary on measurable attributes and units of measurement. Measurable attributes are important features in understanding a word problem and solving the problem. These activities help students comprehend word problems better by identifying…

This workbook bridges the gap between lectures and practical applications, offering students of mathematics, engineering, and physics the chance to practice solvingproblems from a wide variety of fields. 2011 edition.

Humans are better than computers at performing certain tasks because of their intuition and superior visual processing. Video games are now being used to channel these abilities to solveproblems in quantum physics. See Letter p.210

Designs and physical aspects of photoreactors, their capabilities for a study of kinetics and mechanisms of processes proceeding under illumination with light, as well as application of photoreactors for solving various applied problem are discussed.

From the late 1940s to the late 1980s, the Department of Energy (DOE) had a critical role in the Cold War. Many sites were built to contribute to the nation's nuclear weapons effort. However, not enough attention was paid to how the waste generated at these facilities should be handled. As a result, a number of sites fouled the soil around them or dumped low-level radioactive waste into nearby rivers. A DOE laboratory is under construction with a charter to help. Called the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), this national user facility will be located at DOE's Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) in Richland, WA. This laboratory has been funded by DOE and Congress to play a major role as the nation confronts the enormous challenge of reducing environmental and human risks from hundreds of government and industrial waste sites in an economically viable manner. The original proposal for the EMSL took a number of twists and turns on its way to its present form, but one thing remained constant: the belief that safe, permanent, cost-effective solutions to many of the country's environmental problems could be achieved only by multidisciplinary teams working to understand and control molecular processes. The processes of most concern are those that govern the transport and transformation of contaminants, the treatment and storage of high-level mixed wastes, and the risks those contaminants ultimately pose to workers and the public

This book aims to dispel the mystery and fear experienced by students surrounding sequences, series, convergence, and their applications. The author, an accomplished female mathematician, achieves this by taking a problemsolving approach, starting with fascinating problems and solving them step by step with clear explanations and illuminating diagrams. The reader will find the problems interesting, unusual, and fun, yet solved with the rigor expected in a competition. Some problems are taken directly from mathematics competitions, with the name and year of the exam provided for reference. Proof techniques are emphasized, with a variety of methods presented. The text aims to expand the mind of the reader by often presenting multiple ways to attack the same problem, as well as drawing connections with different fields of mathematics. Intuitive and visual arguments are presented alongside technical proofs to provide a well-rounded methodology. With nearly 300 problems including hints, answers, and solutions,Met...

In this paper we will document that real-life problemsolving in complex situations demands both rational (scientific) and intuitive (artistic) thinking. First, the concepts of art and science will be discussed; differences and similarities will be enhanced. Thereafter the concept of group problem...... solving facilitation both as science and art will be presented. A case study related to examination's planning will be discussed to illustrate the main concepts in practice. In addition, other cases studies will also be shortly presented....

Reviews research relevant to the problem of unsatisfactory student problem-solving abilities and suggests a teaching strategy that addresses the issue. Author explains how she uses teaching aloud problemsolving (TAPS) in college chemistry and presents evaluation data. Among the findings are that the TAPS class got fewer problems completely right,…

Full Text Available The article begins with a brief overview of the situation throughout the world regarding problemsolving. The activities of the ProMath group are then described, as the purpose of this international research group is to improve mathematics teaching in school. One mathematics teaching method that seems to be functioning in school is the use of open problems (i.e., problem fields. Next we discuss the objectives of the Finnish curriculum that are connected with problemsolving. Some examples and research results are taken from a Finnish–Chilean research project that monitors the development of problem-solving skills in third grade pupils. Finally, some ideas on “teacher change” are put forward. It is not possible to change teachers, but only to provide hints for possible change routes: the teachers themselves should work out the ideas and their implementation.

Innovative animals are those able to solve novel problems or invent novel solutions to existing problems. Despite the important ecological and evolutionary consequences of innovation, we still know very little about the traits that vary among individuals within a species to make them more or less innovative. Here we examine innovative problemsolving by spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in their natural habitat, and demonstrate for the first time in a non-human animal that those individuals exhibiting a greater diversity of initial exploratory behaviours are more successful problem solvers. Additionally, as in earlier work, we found that neophobia was a critical inhibitor of problem-solving success. Interestingly, although juveniles and adults were equally successful in solving the problem, juveniles were significantly more diverse in their initial exploratory behaviours, more persistent and less neophobic than were adults. We found no significant effects of social rank or sex on success, the diversity of initial exploratory behaviours, behavioural persistence or neophobia. Our results suggest that the diversity of initial exploratory behaviours, akin to some measures of human creativity, is an important, but largely overlooked, determinant of problem-solving success in non-human animals. PMID:22874748

The purpose of my research was to produce a problemsolving evaluation tool for physics. To do this it was necessary to gain a thorough understanding of how students solveproblems. Although physics educators highly value problemsolving and have put extensive effort into understanding successful problemsolving, there is currently no efficient way to evaluate problemsolving skill. Attempts have been made in the past; however, knowledge of the principles required to solve the subject problem are so absolutely critical that they completely overshadow any other skills students may use when solving a problem. The work presented here is unique because the evaluation tool removes the requirement that the student already have a grasp of physics concepts. It is also unique because I picked a wide range of people and picked a wide range of tasks for evaluation. This is an important design feature that helps make things emerge more clearly. This dissertation includes an extensive literature review of problemsolving in physics, math, education and cognitive science as well as descriptions of studies involving student use of interactive computer simulations, the design and validation of a beliefs about physics survey and finally the design of the problemsolving evaluation tool. I have successfully developed and validated a problemsolving evaluation tool that identifies 44 separate assets (skills) necessary for solvingproblems. Rigorous validation studies, including work with an independent interviewer, show these assets identified by this content-free evaluation tool are the same assets that students use to solveproblems in mechanics and quantum mechanics. Understanding this set of component assets will help teachers and researchers address problemsolving within the classroom.

Perennial poor performance recorded annually in both internal and external examinations in Mathematics has been a great concern for the Mathematics Educators in Nigeria. This paper discusses problem-solving and influence of problem-solving strategies on students' performance in mathematics. The concept of ...

An eight-session microgenetic study of acquisition of an insightful problem-solving strategy was conducted. A total of 35 second graders who did not use this insightful strategy initially were assigned to two groups that differed in the frequency of problems likely to facilitate discovery and generalization of the strategy. Children in the…

Across the primary and secondary phases, pupils are encouraged to use and apply their knowledge, skills, and understanding of mathematics to solveproblems in a variety of forms, ranging from single-stage word problems to the challenge of extended rich tasks. Amongst many others, Cockcroft (1982) emphasised the importance and relevance of…

The activity of posing and solvingproblems can enrich learners' mathematical experiences because it fosters a spirit of inquisitiveness, cultivates their mathematical curiosity, and deepens their views of what it means to do mathematics. To achieve these goals, a mathematical problem needs to be at the appropriate level of difficulty,…

This study is concerned with the effects of computer simulations of two novel chemistry problems on the problemsolving ability of students. A control-experimental group, equalized by pair groups (n[subscript Exp] = n[subscript Ctrl] = 78), research design was used. The students had no previous experience of chemical practical work. Student…

An attempt to implement problemsolving as a teacher of ninth grade algebra is described. The problems selected were not general ones, they involved combinations and represented various situations and were more complex which lead to the discovery of Steiner triple systems.

Historically, calculus has displaced many algebraic methods for solving classical problems. This article illustrates an algebraic method for finding the zeros of polynomial functions that is closely related to Newton's method (devised in 1669, published in 1711), which is encountered in calculus. By exploring this problem, precalculus students…

The objective of this paper is to favour the methodological process of reflexive analysis in problemsolving in the general teaching methods that concentrates in strengthening the dimensional analysis, to gain a greater preparation of the students for the solution of mathematical problems.

Does using a bilingual's 1st or 2nd language have an effect on problemsolving in semantically rich domains like school mathematics? The author conducted a study to determine whether Filipino-English bilingual students' understanding and solving of word problems in arithmetic differed when the problems were in the students' 1st and 2nd languages. Two groups participated-students whose 1st language was Filipino and students whose 1st language was English-and easy and difficult arithmetic problems were used. The author used a recall paradigm to assess how students understood the word problems and coded the solution accuracy to assess problemsolving. The results indicated a 1st-language advantage; that is, the students were better able to understand and solveproblems in their 1st language, whether the 1st language was English or Filipino. Moreover, the advantage was more marked with the easy problems. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

A new method is developed for solving the quantum mechanical problem of scattering of a particle with internal structure. The multichannel scattering problem is formulated as a system of nonlinear functional equations for the wave function and reaction matrix. The method is successfully tested for the scattering from a nonspherical potential well and a long-range nonspherical scatterer. The method is also applicable to solving the multidimensional Schroedinger equation with a discrete spectrum. As an example the known problem of a hydrogen atom in a homogeneous magnetic field is analyzed

The aim of this research is to analize the student obstacles on solving algebraic thinking problems in low grades elementary school. This research is a preliminary qualitative research, and involved 66 students of grade 3 elementary school. From the analysis student test results, most of student experience difficulty in solving algebraic thinking problems. The main obstacle is the student’s difficulty in understanding the problem of generalizing the pattern because the students are not accustomed to see the rules that exist in generalize the pattern.

This paper is the second part of a two-part paper treating a non-self-adjoint quadratic eigenvalueproblem for the linear stability of solutions to the Taylor-Couette problem for flow of a viscous liquid in a deformable cylinder, with the cylinder modelled as a membrane. The first part formulated

This article was written based on the results of a study evaluating students' errors in problemsolving of permutation and combination in terms of problemsolving steps according to Polya. Twenty-five students were asked to do four problems related to permutation and combination. The research results showed that the students still did a mistake in…

Problemsolving is recognized as an important life skill involving a range of processes including analyzing, interpreting, reasoning, predicting, evaluating and reflecting. For that reason educating students as efficient problem solvers is an important role of mathematics education. Problemsolving skill is the centre of mathematics curriculum.…

This teaching experiment provided students with continuous engagement in a problem-solving based instructional approach during one mathematics unit. Three sections of sixth-grade mathematics were sampled from a school in Florida, U.S.A. and one section was randomly assigned to experience teaching through problemsolving. Students' problem-solving…

The pioneering works of Murat and Tartar (Topics in the mathematical modeling of composite materials. PNLDE 31. Birkhaeuser, Basel, 1997) go a long way in showing, in general, that problems of optimal design may not admit solutions if microstructural designs are excluded from consideration. Therefore, assuming, tactilely, that the problem of minimizing the first eigenvalue of a two-phase conducting material with the conducting phases to be distributed in a fixed proportion in a given domain has no true solution in general domains, Cox and Lipton only study conditions for an optimal microstructural design (Cox and Lipton in Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 136:101-117, 1996). Although, the problem in one dimension has a solution (cf. Krein in AMS Transl. Ser. 2(1):163-187, 1955) and, in higher dimensions, the problem set in a ball can be deduced to have a radially symmetric solution (cf. Alvino et al. in Nonlinear Anal. TMA 13(2):185-220, 1989), these existence results have been regarded so far as being exceptional owing to complete symmetry. It is still not clear why the same problem in domains with partial symmetry should fail to have a solution which does not develop microstructure and respecting the symmetry of the domain. We hope to revive interest in this question by giving a new proof of the result in a ball using a simpler symmetrization result from Alvino and Trombetti (J. Math. Anal. Appl. 94:328-337, 1983)

This study examines one of the instructional practices features utilized within the Year 8 mathematics lessons in Brunei Darussalam. The codes from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study were applied and strictly followed, and from the 183 mathematics problems recorded, there were 95 problems with a solution presented during the public segments of the video-recorded lesson sequences of the four sampled teachers. The analyses involved firstly, identifying the processes related to mathematical problem statements, and secondly, examining the different processes used in solving the mathematical problems for each problem publicly completed during the lessons. The findings revealed that for three of the teachers, their problem statements coded as `using procedures' ranged from 64% to 83%, while the remaining teacher had 40% of his problem statements coded as `making connections.' The processes used when solving the problems were mainly `using procedures', and none of the problems were coded as `giving results only'. Furthermore, all four teachers made use of making the relevant connections in solving the problems given to their respective students.

Full Text Available In this letter, numerical solutions of Cauchy problems are considered by multivariate Padé approximations (MPA. Multivariate Padé approximations (MPA were applied to power series solutions of Cauchy problems that solved by using He’s variational iteration method (VIM. Then, numerical results obtained by using multivariate Padé approximations were compared with the exact solutions of Cauchy problems.

The use of computers to solve value oriented, deterministic, algorithmic problems, has evolved a structured life cycle model of the software process. The symbolic processing techniques used, primarily in research, for solving nondeterministic problems, and those for which an algorithmic solution is unknown, have evolved a different model, much less structured. Traditionally, the two approaches have been used completely independently. With the advent of low cost, high performance 32 bit workstations executing identical software with large minicomputers and mainframes, it became possible to begin to merge both models into a single extended model of computer problemsolving. The implementation of such an extended model on a VAX family of micro/mini/mainframe systems is described. Examples in both development and deployment of applications involving a blending of AI and traditional techniques are given.

The boundary integral equation (BIE) method has been used more and more in the last 20 years for solving various engineering problems. It has important advantages over other techniques for numerical treatment of a wide class of boundary value problems and is now regarded as an indispensable tool for potential problems, electromagnetism problems, heat transfer, fluid flow, elastostatics, stress concentration and fracture problems, geomechanical problems, and steady-state and transient electrodynamics.In this book, the author gives a complete, thorough and detailed survey of the method. It pro

Today, we can use a computer cluster consist of a few hundreds CPUs with reasonable budget. Such computer system enables us to do detailed modeling of reactor core. The detailed modeling will improve the safety and the economics of a nuclear reactor by eliminating un-necessary conservatism or missing consideration. To take advantage of such a cluster computer, efficient parallel algorithms must be developed. Mechanical structure analysis community has studied the domain decomposition method to solve the stress-strain equation using the finite element methods. One of the most successful domain decomposition method in terms of robustness is FETI-DP. We have modified the original FETI-DP to solve the eigenvalueproblem for the multi-group diffusion problem in previous study. In this study, we report the result of recent modification to handle the three-dimensional subdomain partitioning, and the sub-domain multi-group problem. Modified FETI-DP algorithm has been successfully applied for the eigenvalueproblem of multi-group neutron diffusion equation. The overall CPU time is decreasing as number of sub-domains (partitions) is increasing. However, there may be a limit in decrement due to increment of the number of primal points will increase the CPU time spent by the solution of the global equation. Even distribution of computational load (criterion a) is important to achieve fast computation. The subdomain partition can be effectively performed using suitable graph theory partition package such as MeTIS

Today, we can use a computer cluster consist of a few hundreds CPUs with reasonable budget. Such computer system enables us to do detailed modeling of reactor core. The detailed modeling will improve the safety and the economics of a nuclear reactor by eliminating un-necessary conservatism or missing consideration. To take advantage of such a cluster computer, efficient parallel algorithms must be developed. Mechanical structure analysis community has studied the domain decomposition method to solve the stress-strain equation using the finite element methods. One of the most successful domain decomposition method in terms of robustness is FETI-DP. We have modified the original FETI-DP to solve the eigenvalueproblem for the multi-group diffusion problem in previous study. In this study, we report the result of recent modification to handle the three-dimensional subdomain partitioning, and the sub-domain multi-group problem. Modified FETI-DP algorithm has been successfully applied for the eigenvalueproblem of multi-group neutron diffusion equation. The overall CPU time is decreasing as number of sub-domains (partitions) is increasing. However, there may be a limit in decrement due to increment of the number of primal points will increase the CPU time spent by the solution of the global equation. Even distribution of computational load (criterion a) is important to achieve fast computation. The subdomain partition can be effectively performed using suitable graph theory partition package such as MeTIS.

Genetic algorithms are highly parallel, adaptive search procedures (i.e., problem-solving methods) loosely based on the processes of population genetics and Darwinian survival of the fittest. Genetic algorithms have proven useful in domains where other optimization techniques perform poorly. The main purpose of the paper is to discuss a NASA-sponsored software development project to develop a general-purpose tool for using genetic algorithms. The tool, called Splicer, can be used to solve a wide variety of optimization problems and is currently available from NASA and COSMIC. This discussion is preceded by an introduction to basic genetic algorithm concepts and a discussion of genetic algorithm applications.

The construction of surrogate models for high fidelity models is now considered an important objective in support of all engineering activities which require repeated execution of the simulation, such as verification studies, validation exercises, and uncertainty quantification. The surrogate must be computationally inexpensive to allow its repeated execution, and must be computationally accurate in order for its predictions to be credible. This manuscript introduces a new surrogate construction approach that reduces the dimensionality of the state solution via a range-finding algorithm from linear algebra. It then employs a proper orthogonal decomposition-like approach to solve for the reduced state. The algorithm provides an upper bound on the error resulting from the reduction. Different from the state-of-the-art, the new approach allows the user to define the desired accuracy a priori which controls the maximum allowable reduction. We demonstrate the utility of this approach using an eigenvalue radiation diffusion model, where the accuracy is selected to match machine precision. Results indicate that significant reduction is possible for typical reactor assembly models, which are currently considered expensive given the need to employ very fine mesh many group calculations to ensure the highest possible fidelity for the downstream core calculations. Given the potential for significant reduction in the computational cost, we believe it is possible to rethink the manner in which homogenization theory is currently employed in reactor design calculations. (authors)

We present a computational model of visual problemsolving, designed to solveproblems from the Raven's Progressive Matrices intelligence test. The model builds on the claim that analogical reasoning lies at the heart of visual problemsolving, and intelligence more broadly. Images are compared via structure mapping, aligning the common relational structure in 2 images to identify commonalities and differences. These commonalities or differences can themselves be reified and used as the input for future comparisons. When images fail to align, the model dynamically rerepresents them to facilitate the comparison. In our analysis, we find that the model matches adult human performance on the Standard Progressive Matrices test, and that problems which are difficult for the model are also difficult for people. Furthermore, we show that model operations involving abstraction and rerepresentation are particularly difficult for people, suggesting that these operations may be critical for performing visual problemsolving, and reasoning more generally, at the highest level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Full Text Available The "aha" moment or the sudden arrival of the solution to a problem is a common human experience. Spontaneous problemsolving without evident trial and error behavior in humans and other animals has been referred to as insight. Surprisingly, elephants, thought to be highly intelligent, have failed to exhibit insightful problemsolving in previous cognitive studies. We tested whether three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus would use sticks or other objects to obtain food items placed out-of-reach and overhead. Without prior trial and error behavior, a 7-year-old male Asian elephant showed spontaneous problemsolving by moving a large plastic cube, on which he then stood, to acquire the food. In further testing he showed behavioral flexibility, using this technique to reach other items and retrieving the cube from various locations to use as a tool to acquire food. In the cube's absence, he generalized this tool utilization technique to other objects and, when given smaller objects, stacked them in an attempt to reach the food. The elephant's overall behavior was consistent with the definition of insightful problemsolving. Previous failures to demonstrate this ability in elephants may have resulted not from a lack of cognitive ability but from the presentation of tasks requiring trunk-held sticks as potential tools, thereby interfering with the trunk's use as a sensory organ to locate the targeted food.

This research aims to develop problemsolving model for science learning in junior high school. The learning model was developed using the ADDIE model. An analysis phase includes curriculum analysis, analysis of students of SMP Kota Padang, analysis of SMP science teachers, learning analysis, as well as the literature review. The design phase includes product planning a science-learning problem-solving model, which consists of syntax, reaction principle, social system, support system, instructional impact and support. Implementation of problem-solving model in science learning to improve students' science process skills. The development stage consists of three steps: a) designing a prototype, b) performing a formative evaluation and c) a prototype revision. Implementation stage is done through a limited trial. A limited trial was conducted on 24 and 26 August 2015 in Class VII 2 SMPN 12 Padang. The evaluation phase was conducted in the form of experiments at SMPN 1 Padang, SMPN 12 Padang and SMP National Padang. Based on the development research done, the syntax model problemsolving for science learning at junior high school consists of the introduction, observation, initial problems, data collection, data organization, data analysis/generalization, and communicating.

The "aha" moment or the sudden arrival of the solution to a problem is a common human experience. Spontaneous problemsolving without evident trial and error behavior in humans and other animals has been referred to as insight. Surprisingly, elephants, thought to be highly intelligent, have failed to exhibit insightful problemsolving in previous cognitive studies. We tested whether three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) would use sticks or other objects to obtain food items placed out-of-reach and overhead. Without prior trial and error behavior, a 7-year-old male Asian elephant showed spontaneous problemsolving by moving a large plastic cube, on which he then stood, to acquire the food. In further testing he showed behavioral flexibility, using this technique to reach other items and retrieving the cube from various locations to use as a tool to acquire food. In the cube's absence, he generalized this tool utilization technique to other objects and, when given smaller objects, stacked them in an attempt to reach the food. The elephant's overall behavior was consistent with the definition of insightful problemsolving. Previous failures to demonstrate this ability in elephants may have resulted not from a lack of cognitive ability but from the presentation of tasks requiring trunk-held sticks as potential tools, thereby interfering with the trunk's use as a sensory organ to locate the targeted food.

This paper considers the NP-hard problem of object assignment with respect to multiple constraints: assigning a set of elements (or objects) into mutually exclusive classes (or groups), where the elements which are "similar" to each other are hopefully located in the same class. The literature reports solutions in which the similarity constraint consists of a single index that is inappropriate for the type of multiconstraint problems considered here and where the constraints could simultaneously be contradictory. This feature, where we permit possibly contradictory constraints, distinguishes this paper from the state of the art. Indeed, we are aware of no learning automata (or other heuristic) solutions which solve this problem in its most general setting. Such a scenario is illustrated with the static mapping problem, which consists of distributing the processes of a parallel application onto a set of computing nodes. This is a classical and yet very important problem within the areas of parallel computing, grid computing, and cloud computing. We have developed four learning-automata (LA)-based algorithms to solve this problem: First, a fixed-structure stochastic automata algorithm is presented, where the processes try to form pairs to go onto the same node. This algorithm solves the problem, although it requires some centralized coordination. As it is desirable to avoid centralized control, we subsequently present three different variable-structure stochastic automata (VSSA) algorithms, which have superior partitioning properties in certain settings, although they forfeit some of the scalability features of the fixed-structure algorithm. All three VSSA algorithms model the processes as automata having first the hosting nodes as possible actions; second, the processes as possible actions; and, third, attempting to estimate the process communication digraph prior to probabilistically mapping the processes. This paper, which, we believe, comprehensively reports the

In this work, we present an improved computational version of the LTS N method to solve transport problems in a slab. The key feature relies on the reordering of the set of S N equations. This procedure reduces by a factor of two the task of evaluating the eigenvalues of the matrix associated to SN approximations. We present numerical simulations and comparisons with the ones of the classical LTS N approach. (author)

Full Text Available In this paper we propose our genetic algorithm for solving the SAT problem. We introduce various crossover and mutation techniques and then make a comparative analysis between them in order to find out which techniques are the best suited for solving a SAT instance. Before the genetic algorithm is applied to an instance it is better to seek for unit and pure literals in the given formula and then try to eradicate them. This can considerably reduce the search space, and to demonstrate this we tested our algorithm on some random SAT instances. However, to analyse the various crossover and mutation techniques and also to evaluate the optimality of our algorithm we performed extensive experiments on benchmark instances of the SAT problem. We also estimated the ideal crossover length that would maximise the chances to solve a given SAT instance.

on the nature of physics problem- solving competency. The first, Sommerfeld’s, is a “theory first, phenomenon second” approach. Here the relevant problems originate in one of the theories of physics and the job goal of the problem- solver is to make a mathematical analysis of the suitable equation......A central goal of physics education is to teach problem-solving competency, but the nature of this competency is not well-described in the literature. The present paperarticle uses recent historical scholarship on Arnold Sommerfeld and Enrico Fermi to identify and characterize two positions......(s) and then give a qualitative analysis of the phenomenon that arise from these mathematical results. Fermi’s position is a “phenomenon first, theory second” approach, where the starting point is a physical phenomenon that is analyzed and then brought into the realm of a physics theory. The two positions...

The spheroidal wave functions are found to have extensive applications in many branches of physics and mathematics. We use the perturbation method in supersymmetric quantum mechanics to obtain the analytic ground eigenvalue and the ground eigenfunction of the angular spheroidal wave equation at low frequency in a series form. Using this approach, the numerical determinations of the ground eigenvalue and the ground eigenfunction for small complex frequencies are also obtained.

We present a general procedure based on the pseudo-differential calculus for deriving artificial boundary conditions for an eigenvalueproblem that characterizes the propagation of guided modes in optical waveguides. This new approach allows the construction of local conditions that (a) are independent of the frequency regime, (b) preserve the sparsity pattern of the finite element discretization, and (c) are applicable to arbitrarily shaped convex artificial boundaries. The last feature has the potential for reducing the size of the computational domain. Numerical results are presented to highlight the potential of conditions of order 1/2 and 1, for improving significantly the computational efficiency of finite element methods for the solution of optical waveguide problems

This paper introduces a novel implementation in reducing a symmetric dense matrix to tridiagonal form, which is the preprocessing step toward solving symmetric eigenvalueproblems. Based on tile algorithms, the reduction follows a two-stage approach, where the tile matrix is first reduced to symmetric band form prior to the final condensed structure. The challenging trade-off between algorithmic performance and task granularity has been tackled through a grouping technique, which consists of aggregating fine-grained and memory-aware computational tasks during both stages, while sustaining the application\\'s overall high performance. A dynamic runtime environment system then schedules the different tasks in an out-of-order fashion. The performance for the tridiagonal reduction reported in this paper is unprecedented. Our implementation results in up to 50-fold and 12-fold improvement (130 Gflop/s) compared to the equivalent routines from LAPACK V3.2 and Intel MKL V10.3, respectively, on an eight socket hexa-core AMD Opteron multicore shared-memory system with a matrix size of 24000×24000. Copyright 2011 ACM.

Uni- and multidimensional processing of 6- to 9-year olds was studied using recall tasks in which an array of stimuli was reconstructed to match a model array. Results indicated that both age groups were able to solve multidimensional problems, but that solution rate was retarded by the unidimensional processing of highly salient dimensions.…

Problemsolving is recognized as a critical component to becoming a self-determined individual. The development of this skill should be fostered in the early years through the use of age-appropriate direct and embedded activities. However, many early childhood teachers may not be providing adequate instruction in this area. This column provides a…

This paper explores young children's drawings (6 years old) in early number and addition activities in Malaysia. Observation, informal interviews and analysis of drawings revealed two types of drawing, and gave insight into the transitional process required for children to utilise drawings in problemsolving. We argue the importance of valuing and…

Authored by a leading name in mathematics, this engaging and clearly presented text leads the reader through the tactics involved in solving mathematical problems at the Mathematical Olympiad level. With numerous exercises and assuming only basic mathematics, this text is ideal for students of 14 years and above in pure mathematics.

The need for new expertise in problemsolving in the work setting has emerged as a woman's issue because work outside the home has become a primary means for personal goal attainment for about half the women in the United States and because traditional career patterns and norms are ineffective. Career planning is the process of individual career…

Effectively using strategies to solve complex problems is an important educational goal and is implicated in successful academic performance. However, people often do not spontaneously use the effective strategies unless they are motivated to do so. The present study was designed to test whether educating students about the importance of effort in…

This research attempts to examine the collaborative problemsolving methods towards critical thinking based on economy (AE) and non economy (TE) in the SPM level among students in the lower sixth form. The quasi experiment method that uses the modal of 3X2 factorial is applied. 294 lower sixth form students from ten schools are distributed…

G. [., and Sussman, G. J. AMORD: Explicit Control or Reasoning. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Artificial Intellignece and Programming Languagues...0505 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK Artificial Intelligence Laboratory AREA& WORK UNIT NUMBERS 545...extending ideas from the field of Artificial Intelligence (A), we describ office work as a problemsolving activity. A knowledge embedding language called

In order to investigate the relationship between mental imagery and creative problemsolving, a study of 44 separate accounts reporting mental imagery experiences associated with creative discoveries were examined. The data included 29 different scientists, among them Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, and 9 artists, musicians, and writers,…

This paper presents a problem-solving test that deals with the regulation of the "trp" operon of "Escherichia coli." Two mutants of this operon are described: in mutant A, the operator region of the operon carries a point mutation so that it is unable to carry out its function; mutant B expresses a "trp" repressor protein unable to bind…

This account of practice outlines the Oxyme Action Learning Program which was conducted as part of the Management Challenge in my final year of the MSc in Coaching and Behavioral Change at Henley Business School. The central research questions were: (1) how action learning can help to solve wicked problems and (2) what the effect of an action…

In the authors' attempts to incorporate problemsolving into their mathematics courses, they have found that student ambition and creativity are often hampered by feelings of risk, as many students are conditioned to value a produced solution over the actual process of building one. Eliminating risk is neither possible nor desired. The challenge,…

This study investigated the relation between problem-solving strategies in the marital conflict and marital satisfaction. Four problem-solving strategies (Dialogue, Loyalty, Escalation of conflict and Withdrawal) were measured by the Problem-Solving Strategies Inventory, in two versions: self-report and report of partners' perceived behaviour. This measure refers to the concept of Rusbult, Johnson and Morrow, and meets high standards of reliability (alpha Cronbach from alpha = 0.78 to alpha = 0.94) and validity. Marital satisfaction was measured by Marriage Success Scale. The sample was composed of 147 marital couples. The study revealed that satisfied couples, in comparison with non-satisfied couples, tend to use constructive problem-solving strategies (Dialogue and Loyalty). They rarely use destructive strategies like Escalation of conflict or Withdrawal. Dialogue is the strategy connected with satisfaction in a most positive manner. These might be very important guidelines to couples' psychotherapy. Loyalty to oneself is a significant positive predictor of male satisfaction is also own Loyalty. The study shows that constructive attitudes are the most significant predictors of marriage satisfaction. It is therefore worth concentrating mostly on them in the psychotherapeutic process instead of eliminating destructive attitudes.

Many traditional classroom science and technology activities often ask students to complete prepackaged labs that ensure that everyone arrives at the same "scientifically accurate" solution or theory, which ignores the important problem-solving and creative aspects of scientific research and technological design. Students rarely have the…

The results of two studies are contained in this report in summary form. They represent the first parts of a program of research designed to study the effects of change and history on the on the behaviors of problem-solving Groups...

Full Text Available Considered is a regular fourth order ordinary differential equation which depends quadratically on the eigenvalue parameter λ and which has separable boundary conditions depending linearly on λ. It is shown that the eigenvalues lie in the closed upper half plane or on the imaginary axis and are symmetric with respect to the imaginary axis. The first four terms in the asymptotic expansion of the eigenvalues are provided.

Full Text Available According to the restructuring hypothesis, insight problemsolving typically progresses through consecutive stages of search, impasse, insight and search again for someone, who solves the task. The order of these stages was determined through self-reports of problem solvers and has never been verified behaviourally. We asked whether individual analysis of problemsolving attempts of participants revealed the same order of problemsolving stages as defined by the theory and whether their subjective feelings corresponded to the problemsolving stages they were in. 101 participants tried to solve the Five-Square problem in an online task, while we recorded the time and trajectory of their stick movements. After the task they were asked about their feelings related to insight and 67 of them also had the possibility of reporting impasse while working on the task. We have found that 49% (19 out of 39 of the solvers and 13% (8 out of 62 of the non-solvers followed the classic four-stage model of insight. The rest of the participants had more complex sequences of problemsolving stages, with search and impasse recurring several times. This means that the classic four-stage model must be extended to explain variability on the individual level. We provide a model that can generate all sequences found. Solvers reported insight more often than non-solvers and non-solvers reported impasse more often than solvers, as expected; but participants did not report impasse more often during behaviourally defined impasse stages than during other stages. This shows that impasse reports might be unreliable indicators of impasse. Our study highlights the importance of individual analysis of problemsolving behaviour to verify insight theory.

According to the restructuring hypothesis, insight problemsolving typically progresses through consecutive stages of search, impasse, insight, and search again for someone, who solves the task. The order of these stages was determined through self-reports of problem solvers and has never been verified behaviorally. We asked whether individual analysis of problemsolving attempts of participants revealed the same order of problemsolving stages as defined by the theory and whether their subjective feelings corresponded to the problemsolving stages they were in. Our participants tried to solve the Five-Square problem in an online task, while we recorded the time and trajectory of their stick movements. After the task they were asked about their feelings related to insight and some of them also had the possibility of reporting impasse while working on the task. We found that the majority of participants did not follow the classic four-stage model of insight, but had more complex sequences of problemsolving stages, with search and impasse recurring several times. This means that the classic four-stage model is not sufficient to describe variability on the individual level. We revised the classic model and we provide a new model that can generate all sequences found. Solvers reported insight more often than non-solvers and non-solvers reported impasse more often than solvers, as expected; but participants did not report impasse more often during behaviorally defined impasse stages than during other stages. This shows that impasse reports might be unreliable indicators of impasse. Our study highlights the importance of individual analysis of problemsolving behavior to verify insight theory.

Often teachers provided examples and exercised to students with regard to comparative problems consisting of one quantity. In this study, the researchers gave the problem of comparison with the two quantities mixed. It was necessary to have a good understanding to solve this problem. This study aimed to determine whether students understand the comparison in depth and be able to solve the problem of non-routine comparison. This study used qualitative explorative methods, with researchers conducting in-depth interviews on subjects to explore the thinking process when solving comparative problems. The subject of this study was three students selected by purposive sampling of 120 students. From this research, researchers found there were three subjects with different characteristics, namely: subject 1, he did the first and second questions with methods of elimination and substitution (non-comparison); subject 2, he did the first question with the concept of comparison although the answer was wrong, and did the second question with the method of elimination and substitution (non-comparison); and subject 3, he did both questions with the concept of comparison. In the first question, he did wrong because he was unable to understand the problem, while on the second he did correctly. From the characteristics of the answers, the researchers divided into 3 groups based on thinking process, namely: blind-proportion, partial-proportion, and proportion thinking.

This book details approximate solutions to common fixed point problems and convex feasibility problems in the presence of perturbations. Convex feasibility problems search for a common point of a finite collection of subsets in a Hilbert space; common fixed point problems pursue a common fixed point of a finite collection of self-mappings in a Hilbert space. A variety of algorithms are considered in this book for solving both types of problems, the study of which has fueled a rapidly growing area of research. This monograph is timely and highlights the numerous applications to engineering, computed tomography, and radiation therapy planning. Totaling eight chapters, this book begins with an introduction to foundational material and moves on to examine iterative methods in metric spaces. The dynamic string-averaging methods for common fixed point problems in normed space are analyzed in Chapter 3. Dynamic string methods, for common fixed point problems in a metric space are introduced and discussed in Chapter ...

Covariational reasoning plays an important role to indicate quantities vary in learning calculus. This study investigates students’ covariational reasoning during their studies concerning two covarying quantities in integral problem. Six undergraduate students were chosen to solveproblems that involved interpreting and representing how quantities change in tandem. Interviews were conducted to reveal the students’ reasoning while solving covariational problems. The result emphasizes that undergraduate students were able to construct the relation of dependent variables that changes in tandem with the independent variable. However, students faced difficulty in forming images of continuously changing rates and could not accurately apply the concept of integrals. These findings suggest that learning calculus should be increased emphasis on coordinating images of two quantities changing in tandem about instantaneously rate of change and to promote conceptual knowledge in integral techniques.

Full Text Available It is shown that any \\(\\mu \\in \\mathbb{C}\\ is an infinite multiplicity eigenvalue of the Steklov smoothing operator \\(S_h\\ acting on the space \\(L^1_{loc}(\\mathbb{R}\\. For \\(\\mu \

that “learning is problem solving”. Therefore, teaching problemsolving is teaching people how to learn, so is problemsolving in chemistry education. Kalbag (4) states that problemsolving orientation in chemistry education has an importance in that problemsolving converts information into knowledge. Kalbag further states.

Full Text Available Three forms of mathematics education at school level are distinguished: direct expository teaching with an emphasis on procedures, with the expectation that learners will at some later stage make logical and functional sense of what they have learnt and practised (the prevalent form, mathematically rigorous teaching in terms of fundamental mathematical concepts, as in the so-called “modern mathematics” programmes of the sixties, teaching and learning in the context of engaging with meaningful problems and focused both on learning to become good problem solvers (teaching for problemsolving andutilising problems as vehicles for the development of mathematical knowledge andproﬁciency by learners (problem-centred learning, in conjunction with substantialteacher-led social interaction and mathematical discourse in classrooms.Direct expository teaching of mathematical procedures dominated in school systems after World War II, and was augmented by the “modern mathematics” movement in the period 1960-1970. The latter was experienced as a major failure, and was soon abandoned. Persistent poor outcomes of direct expository procedural teaching of mathematics for the majority of learners, as are still being experienced in South Africa, triggered a world-wide movement promoting teaching mathematics for and via problemsolving in the seventies and eighties of the previous century. This movement took the form of a variety of curriculum experiments in which problemsolving was the dominant classroom activity, mainly in the USA, Netherlands, France and South Africa. While initially focusing on basic arithmetic (computation with whole numbers and elementary calculus, the problem-solving movement started to address other mathematical topics (for example, elementary statistics, algebra, differential equations around the turn of the century. The movement also spread rapidly to other countries, including Japan, Singapore and Australia. Parallel with the

This research aims to analyze the comparison ProblemSolving Reasoning (PSR) and Problem Based Instruction (PBI) on problemsolving and mathematical communication abilities viewed from Self-Regulated Learning (SRL). Learning was given to grade 8th junior high school students. This research uses quasi experimental method, and then with descriptive analysis. Data were analyzed using two-ways multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with different cells. The result of data analysis were learning model gives different effect, level of SRL gives the same effect, and there is no interaction between the learning model with the SRL on the problemsolving and mathematical communication abilities. The t-test statistic was used to find out more effective learning model. Based on the test, regardless of the level of SRL, PSR is more effective than PBI for problemsolving ability. The result of descriptive analysis was PSR had the advantage in creating learning that optimizing the ability of learners in reasoning to solve a mathematical problem. Consequently, the PSR is the right learning model to be applied in the classroom to improve problemsolving ability of learners.

An axisymmetric force-free magnetic field B(r, θ) in spherical coordinates is defined by a function r sin θB{sub φ}=Q(A) relating its azimuthal component to its poloidal flux-function A. The power law r sin θB{sub φ}=aA|A|{sup 1/n}, n a positive constant, admits separable fields with A=(A{sub n}(θ))/(r{sup n}) , posing a nonlinear boundary-value problem for the constant parameter a as an eigenvalue and A{sub n}(θ) as its eigenfunction [B. C. Low and Y. Q Lou, Astrophys. J. 352, 343 (1990)]. A complete analysis is presented of the eigenvalue spectrum for a given n, providing a unified understanding of the eigenfunctions and the physical relationship between the field's degree of multi-polarity and rate of radial decay via the parameter n. These force-free fields, self-similar on spheres of constant r, have basic astrophysical applications. As explicit solutions they have, over the years, served as standard benchmarks for testing 3D numerical codes developed to compute general force-free fields in the solar corona. The study presented includes a set of illustrative multipolar field solutions to address the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) issues underlying the observation that the solar corona has a statistical preference for negative and positive magnetic helicities in its northern and southern hemispheres, respectively; a hemispherical effect, unchanging as the Sun's global field reverses polarity in successive eleven-year cycles. Generalizing these force-free fields to the separable form B=(H(θ,φ))/(r{sup n+2}) promises field solutions of even richer topological varieties but allowing for φ-dependence greatly complicates the governing equations that have remained intractable. The axisymmetric results obtained are discussed in relation to this generalization and the Parker Magnetostatic Theorem. The axisymmetric solutions are mathematically related to a family of 3D time-dependent ideal MHD solutions for a polytropic fluid of index γ = 4

The solution for eigenfunction and eigenvalue for effective Hamiltonians anti Hsub(p) in two-particle channels corresponding to division of four particles into groups (3.1) and (2.2) is very essential in the four-body problem as applied to nuclear reactions. The interaction of anti√sub(p) in each channel may be written in the form of an integral operator which takes account of the structure of a target nucleus or of an incident particle and satisfying the integral equation. While assuming the two-particle potentials to be central, it is possible to expand the effective interactions anti√sub(p) in partial waves and write the radial equation for anti Hsub(p). In the approximation on a mass shell the radial equations for the eigenfunctions of Hsub(p) are reduced to an algebraic equations system. The coefficients of the latter are expressed through the Fourier images for products of wave functions of bound clusters and the two-particle central potential which are localized in a momentum space

Full Text Available The paper describes and interprets data of a study on counterfactual problemsolving in representatives of modern industrial culture. The study was inspired by similar experiments carried out by A.R. Luria during his expedition to Central Asia. The hypothesis of our study was that representatives of modern industrial culture would solve counterfactual puzzles at a slower rate and with higher numbers of mistakes than similar non-counterfactual tasks. The experiments we conducted supported this hypothesis as well as provided us with some insights as to how to further develop it. For instance, we found no significant differences in time lag in solving counterfactual and ‘realistic’ tasks between the subjects with mathematical and the ones with liberal arts education. As an interpretation of the obtained data, we suggest a two-stage model of counterfactual problemsolving: on the first stage, where situated cognition dominates, the realistic situation is transferred into the system of symbols unrelated to this very situation; on the second stage, operations are carried out within the framework of this new system of symbols.

This comprehensive and stimulating introduction to Matlab, a computer language now widely used for technical computing, is based on an introductory course held at Qian Weichang College, Shanghai University, in the fall of 2014. Teaching and learning a substantial programming language aren’t always straightforward tasks. Accordingly, this textbook is not meant to cover the whole range of this high-performance technical programming environment, but to motivate first- and second-year undergraduate students in mathematics and computer science to learn Matlab by studying representative problems, developing algorithms and programming them in Matlab. While several topics are taken from the field of scientific computing, the main emphasis is on programming. A wealth of examples are completely discussed and solved, allowing students to learn Matlab by doing: by solvingproblems, comparing approaches and assessing the proposed solutions.

Full Text Available The solvingproblems like the transfer constitute two nuclei, related, essential in the cognitive investigation and in the mathematical education. No is in and of itself casual that, from the first moment, in the investigations on the application gives the computer science to the teaching the mathematics, cybernetic models were developed that simulated processes problemsolving and transfer cotexts (GPS, 1969 and IDEA (Interactive Decision Envisioning Aid, Pea, BrunerCohen, Webster & Mellen, 1987. The present articulates it analyzes, that can contribute to the development in this respect the new technologies hypermedias, give applications that are good to implement processes of learning the heuristic thought and give the capacity of «transfer». From our perspective and from the experience that we have developed in this field, to carry out a function gives analysis and the theories on the problemsolving, it requires that we exercise a previous of interpretation the central aspsects over the theories gives the solvingproblem and transfer starting from the classic theories on the prosecution of the information. In this sense, so much the theory gives the dual memory as the most recent, J. Anderson (1993 based on the mechanisms activation nodes information they allow to establish an interpretation suggester over the mental mechanism that you/they operate in the heuristic processes. On this analysis, the present articulates it develops a theoritical interpretation over the function gives the supports based on technology hypermedia advancing in the definition of a necessary theoretical body, having in it counts that on the other hand the practical experimentation is permanent concluding in the efficiency and effectiveness gives the support hypermedia like mechanism of comunication in the processes heuristic learning.

The availability of supercomputers enables the engineer to formulate new strategies for problemsolving. One such strategy is the Integrated Planning and Simulation System (IPSS). With the integrated systems, simulation models with greater consistency and good agreement with actual plant data can be effectively realized. In the present work some of the basic ideas of IPSS are described as well as some of the conditions necessary to build such systems. Hardware and software characteristics as realized are outlined. (orig.) [de

In this paper the application of the Laplace transform method is described in order to determine the energy-dependent albedo matrix that is used in the boundary conditions multigroup neutron diffusion eigenvalueproblems in slab geometry for nuclear reactor global calculations. In slab geometry, the diffusion albedo substitutes without approximation the baffle-reflector system around the active domain. Numerical results to typical test problems are shown to illustrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the Chebysheff acceleration scheme. (orig.)

A linear equation is an algebra material that exists in junior high school to university. It is a very important material for students in order to learn more advanced mathematics topics. Therefore, linear equation material is essential to be mastered. However, the result of 2016 national examination in Indonesia showed that students’ achievement in solving linear equation problem was low. This fact became a background to investigate students’ difficulties in solving linear equation problems. This study used qualitative descriptive method. An individual written test on linear equation tasks was administered, followed by interviews. Twenty-one sample students of grade VIII of SMPIT Insan Kamil Karanganyar did the written test, and 6 of them were interviewed afterward. The result showed that students with high mathematics achievement donot have difficulties, students with medium mathematics achievement have factual difficulties, and students with low mathematics achievement have factual, conceptual, operational, and principle difficulties. Based on the result there is a need of meaningfulness teaching strategy to help students to overcome difficulties in solving linear equation problems.

Full Text Available Humans have long been characterized as poor probabilistic reasoners when presented with explicit numerical information. Bayesian word problems provide a well-known example of this, where even highly educated and cognitively skilled individuals fail to adhere to mathematical norms. It is widely agreed that natural frequencies can facilitate Bayesian reasoning relative to normalized formats (e.g. probabilities, percentages, both by clarifying logical set-subset relations and by simplifying numerical calculations. Nevertheless, between-study performance on transparent Bayesian problems varies widely, and generally remains rather unimpressive. We suggest there has been an over-focus on this representational facilitator (i.e. transparent problem structures at the expense of the specific logical and numerical processing requirements and the corresponding individual abilities and skills necessary for providing Bayesian-like output given specific verbal and numerical input. We further suggest that understanding this task-individual pair could benefit from considerations from the literature on mathematical cognition, which emphasizes text comprehension and problemsolving, along with contributions of online executive working memory, metacognitive regulation, and relevant stored knowledge and skills. We conclude by offering avenues for future research aimed at identifying the stages in problemsolving at which correct versus incorrect reasoners depart, and how individual difference might influence this time point.

Quantum resonance would be exploited in a proposed quantum-computing approach to the solution of combinatorial optimization problems. In quantum computing in general, one takes advantage of the fact that an algorithm cannot be decoupled from the physical effects available to implement it. Prior approaches to quantum computing have involved exploitation of only a subset of known quantum physical effects, notably including parallelism and entanglement, but not including resonance. In the proposed approach, one would utilize the combinatorial properties of tensor-product decomposability of unitary evolution of many-particle quantum systems for physically simulating solutions to NP-complete problems (a class of problems that are intractable with respect to classical methods of computation). In this approach, reinforcement and selection of a desired solution would be executed by means of quantum resonance. Classes of NP-complete problems that are important in practice and could be solved by the proposed approach include planning, scheduling, search, and optimal design.

In this research, by carrying out activities based on texts, effect of providing problemsolving skill on students’ levels of problemsolving attainment was tried to be identified. Research was performed according to pretest-posttest Experimental Model with Control Group, in 2008-2009 educational year at second grade of an elementary school in Denizli province. For nine weeks, four hours in a week, while teacher guide book was being followed in control group in Turkish language lesson, texts ...

This study examined how toddlers gain insights from source video displays and use the insights to solve analogous problems. Two- to 2.5-year-olds viewed a source video illustrating a problem-solving strategy and then attempted to solve analogous problems. Older but not younger toddlers extracted the problem-solving strategy depicted in the video…

Students with disabilities need problem-solving skills to promote their success in solving the problems of daily life. The research into problem-solving instruction has been limited for students with autism. Using a problem-solving intervention and the Self Determined Learning Model of Instruction, three elementary age students with autism were…

The internet provides free learning opportunities for declarative (Wikipedia, YouTube) and procedural (Kahn Academy, MOOCs) knowledge, challenging colleges to provide learning at a higher cognitive level. Our ``Modeling Applied to ProblemSolving'' pedagogy for Newtonian Mechanics imparts strategic knowledge - how to systematically determine which concepts to apply and why. Declarative and procedural knowledge is learned online before class via an e-text, checkpoint questions, and homework on edX.org (see http://relate.mit.edu/physicscourse); it is organized into five Core Models. Instructors then coach students on simple ``touchstone problems'', novel exercises, and multi-concept problems - meanwhile exercising three of the four C's: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problemsolving. Students showed 1.2 standard deviations improvement on the MIT final exam after three weeks instruction, a significant positive shift in 7 of the 9 categories in the CLASS, and their grades improved by 0.5 standard deviation in their following physics course (Electricity and Magnetism).

We consider software project cost estimation from a problemsolving perspective. Taking a cognitive psychological approach, we argue that the algorithmic basis for CBR tools is not representative of human problemsolving and this mismatch could account for inconsistent results. We describe the fundamentals of problemsolving, focusing on experts solving ill-defined problems. This is supplemented by a systematic literature review of empirical studies of expert problemsolving of non-trivial pr...

The Cauchy problem for an elliptic operator is formulated as a two-player Nash game. Player (1) is given the known Dirichlet data, and uses as strategy variable the Neumann condition prescribed over the inaccessible part of the boundary. Player (2) is given the known Neumann data, and plays with the Dirichlet condition prescribed over the inaccessible boundary. The two players solve in parallel the associated Boundary Value Problems. Their respective objectives involve the gap between the non used Neumann/Dirichlet known data and the traces of the BVP's solutions over the accessible boundary, and are coupled through a difference term. We prove the existence of a unique Nash equilibrium, which turns out to be the reconstructed data when the Cauchy problem has a solution. We also prove that the completion algorithm is stable with respect to noise, and present two 3D experiments which illustrate the efficiency and stability of our algorithm.

It has become crucial for managers to be computer literate in today's business environment. It is also important that those entering the field acquire the fundamental theories of information systems, the essential practical skills in computer applications, and the desire for life-long learning in information technology. Programming Languages for Business ProblemSolving presents a working knowledge of the major programming languages, including COBOL, C++, Java, HTML, JavaScript, VB.NET, VBA, ASP.NET, Perl, PHP, XML, and SQL, used in the current business computing environment. The book examin

This paper reports one aspect of a larger study which looked at the strategies used by a selection of grade 6 students to solve six non-routine mathematical problems. The data revealed that the students exhibited many of the behaviours identified in the literature as being associated with novice and expert problem solvers. However, the categories…

The numerical approximation of the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions of the fractional Sturm-Liouville problems, in which the second order derivative is replaced by a fractional derivative, is considered. The present results can be implemented on the numerical solution of the fractional diffusion-wave equation. The results show the simplicity and efficiency of the numerical method.

A spectral nodal method is developed for multigroup x,y-geometry discrete ordinates (S{sub N}) eigenvalueproblems for nuclear reactor global calculations. This method uses the conventional multigroup SN discretized spatial balance nodal equations with two non-standard auxiliary equations: the spectral diamond (SD) auxiliary equations for the discretization nodes inside the fuel regions, and the spectral Green's function (SGF) auxiliary equations for the non-multiplying regions, such as the baffle and the reactor. This spectral nodal method is derived from the analytical general solution of the SN transverse integrated nodal equations with constant approximations for the transverse leakage terms within each discretization node. The SD and SGF auxiliary equations have parameters, which are determined to preserve the homogeneous and the particular components of these local general solutions. Therefore, we refer to the offered method as the hybrid SD-SGF-Constant Nodal (SD-SGF-CN) method. The S{sub N} discretized spatial balance equations, together with the SD and the SGF auxiliary equations form the SD-SGF-CN equations. We solve the SD-SGF-CN equations by using the one-node block inversion inner iterations (NBI), wherein the most recent estimates for the incoming group node-edge average or prescribed boundary conditions are used to evaluate the outgoing group node-edge average fluxes in the directions of the S{sub N} transport sweeps, for each estimate of the dominant eigenvalue in the conventional Power outer iterations. We show in numerical calculations that the SD-SGF-CN method is very accurate for coarse-mesh multigroup S{sub N} eigenvalueproblems, even though the transverse leakage terms are approximated rather simply. (author)

A spectral nodal method is developed for multigroup x,y-geometry discrete ordinates (S N ) eigenvalueproblems for nuclear reactor global calculations. This method uses the conventional multigroup SN discretized spatial balance nodal equations with two non-standard auxiliary equations: the spectral diamond (SD) auxiliary equations for the discretization nodes inside the fuel regions, and the spectral Green's function (SGF) auxiliary equations for the non-multiplying regions, such as the baffle and the reactor. This spectral nodal method is derived from the analytical general solution of the SN transverse integrated nodal equations with constant approximations for the transverse leakage terms within each discretization node. The SD and SGF auxiliary equations have parameters, which are determined to preserve the homogeneous and the particular components of these local general solutions. Therefore, we refer to the offered method as the hybrid SD-SGF-Constant Nodal (SD-SGF-CN) method. The S N discretized spatial balance equations, together with the SD and the SGF auxiliary equations form the SD-SGF-CN equations. We solve the SD-SGF-CN equations by using the one-node block inversion inner iterations (NBI), wherein the most recent estimates for the incoming group node-edge average or prescribed boundary conditions are used to evaluate the outgoing group node-edge average fluxes in the directions of the S N transport sweeps, for each estimate of the dominant eigenvalue in the conventional Power outer iterations. We show in numerical calculations that the SD-SGF-CN method is very accurate for coarse-mesh multigroup S N eigenvalueproblems, even though the transverse leakage terms are approximated rather simply. (author)

For nuclear reactor analysis such as the neutron eigenvalue calculations, the time consuming Monte Carlo (MC) simulations can be accelerated by using graphics processing units (GPUs). However, traditional MC methods are often history-based, and their performance on GPUs is affected significantly by the thread divergence problem. In this paper we describe the development of a newly designed event-based vectorized MC algorithm for solving the neutron eigenvalueproblem. The code was implemented using NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), and tested on a NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPU card. We found that although the vectorized MC algorithm greatly reduces the occurrence of thread divergence thus enhancing the warp execution efficiency, the overall simulation speed is roughly ten times slower than the history-based MC code on GPUs. Profiling results suggest that the slow speed is probably due to the memory access latency caused by the large amount of global memory transactions. Possible solutions to improve the code efficiency are discussed.

For nuclear reactor analysis such as the neutron eigenvalue calculations, the time consuming Monte Carlo (MC) simulations can be accelerated by using graphics processing units (GPUs). However, traditional MC methods are often history-based, and their performance on GPUs is affected significantly by the thread divergence problem. In this paper we describe the development of a newly designed event-based vectorized MC algorithm for solving the neutron eigenvalueproblem. The code was implemented using NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), and tested on a NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPU card. We found that although the vectorized MC algorithm greatly reduces the occurrence of thread divergence thus enhancing the warp execution efficiency, the overall simulation speed is roughly ten times slower than the history-based MC code on GPUs. Profiling results suggest that the slow speed is probably due to the memory access latency caused by the large amount of global memory transactions. Possible solutions to improve the code efficiency are discussed. (authors)

Have you ever faced a mathematical problem and had no idea how to approach it? Or perhaps you had an idea but got stuck halfway through? This book guides you in developing your creativity, as it takes you on a voyage of discovery into mathematics. Readers will not only learn strategies for solvingproblems and logical reasoning, but they will also learn about the importance of proofs and various proof techniques. Other topics covered include recursion, mathematical induction, graphs, counting, elementary number theory, and the pigeonhole, extremal and invariance principles. Designed to help students make the transition from secondary school to university level, this book provides readers with a refreshing look at mathematics and deep insights into universal principles that are valuable far beyond the scope of this book. Aimed especially at undergraduate and secondary school students as well as teachers, this book will appeal to anyone interested in mathematics. Only basic secondary school mathematics is requi...

This book addresses fault detection and isolation topics from a computational perspective. Unlike most existing literature, it bridges the gap between the existing well-developed theoretical results and the realm of reliable computational synthesis procedures. The model-based approach to fault detection and diagnosis has been the subject of ongoing research for the past few decades. While the theoretical aspects of fault diagnosis on the basis of linear models are well understood, most of the computational methods proposed for the synthesis of fault detection and isolation filters are not satisfactory from a numerical standpoint. Several features make this book unique in the fault detection literature: Solution of standard synthesis problems in the most general setting, for both continuous- and discrete-time systems, regardless of whether they are proper or not; consequently, the proposed synthesis procedures can solve a specific problem whenever a solution exists Emphasis on the best numerical algorithms to ...

We solve numerically a deconvolution problem to extract the undisturbed spectrum from the measured distribution contaminated by the finite resolution of the measuring device. A problem of this kind emerges when one wants to infer the momentum distribution of the neutral pions by detecting the it decay photons using the photon spectrometer of the ALICE LHC experiment at CERN {[}1]. The underlying integral equation connecting the sought for pion spectrum and the measured gamma spectrum has been discretized and subsequently reduced to a system of linear algebraic equations. The latter system, however, is known to be ill-posed and must be regularized to obtain a stable solution. This task has been accomplished here by means of the Tikhonov regularization scheme combined with the L-curve method. The resulting pion spectrum is in an excellent quantitative agreement with the pion spectrum obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Full Text Available The examination timetabling problem belongs to the class of combinatorial optimization problems and is of great importance for every University. In this paper, a hybrid evolutionary algorithm running on a GPU is employed to solve the examination timetabling problem. The hybrid evolutionary algorithm proposed has a genetic algorithm component and a greedy steepest descent component. The GPU computational capabilities allow the use of very large population sizes, leading to a more thorough exploration of the problem solution space. The GPU implementation, depending on the size of the problem, is up to twenty six times faster than the identical single-threaded CPU implementation of the algorithm. The algorithm is evaluated with the well known Toronto datasets and compares well with the best results found in the bibliography. Moreover, the selection of the encoding of the chromosomes and the tournament selection size as the population grows are examined and optimized. The compressed sparse row format is used for the conflict matrix and was proven essential to the process, since most of the datasets have a small conflict density, which translates into an extremely sparse matrix.

Full Text Available Although solving arithmetic problems approximately is an important skill in everyday life, little is known about the development of this skill. Past research has shown that when children are asked to solve multi-digit multiplication problems approximately, they provide estimates that are often very far from the exact answer. This is unfortunate as computation estimation is needed in many circumstances in daily life. The present study examined 4th graders, 6th graders and adults' ability to estimate the results of arithmetic problems relative to a reference number. A developmental pattern was observed in accuracy, speed and strategy use. With age there was a general increase in speed, and an increase in accuracy mainly for trials in which the reference number was close to the exact answer. The children tended to use the sense of magnitude strategy, which does not involve any calculation but relies mainly on an intuitive coarse sense of magnitude, while the adults used the approximated calculation strategy which involves rounding and multiplication procedures, and relies to a greater extent on calculation skills and working memory resources. Importantly, the children were less accurate than the adults, but were well above chance level. In all age groups performance was enhanced when the reference number was smaller (vs. larger than the exact answer and when it was far (vs. close from it, suggesting the involvement of an approximate number system. The results suggest the existence of an intuitive sense of magnitude for the results of arithmetic problems that might help children and even adults with difficulties in math. The present findings are discussed in the context of past research reporting poor estimation skills among children, and the conditions that might allow using children estimation skills in an effective manner.

We report on the use of qualitative problem-solving strategies in teaching an introductory, calculus-based physics course as a means of highlighting the role played by conceptual knowledge in solvingproblems. We found that presenting strategies during lectures and in homework solutions provides an excellent opportunity to model for students the type of concept-based, qualitative reasoning that is valued in our profession, and that student-generated strategies serve a diagnostic function by providing instructors with insights on students' conceptual understanding and reasoning. Finally, we found strategies to be effective pedagogical tools for helping students both to identify principles that could be applied to solve specific problems, as well as to recall the major principles covered in the course months after it was over.

This study investigated the relationships among the symbolic representation of problems given to students to solve, the mental representations they use to solve the problems, and the accuracy of their solutions. Twenty eleventh-grade science students were asked to think aloud as they solvedproblems on the ideal gas laws. The problems were…

This paper reviews the presentation of problemsolving and process aspects of mathematics in curriculum documents from Australia, UK, USA and Singapore. The place of problemsolving in the documents is reviewed and contrasted, and illustrative problems from teachers' support materials are used to demonstrate how problemsolving is now more often…

Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of contextualized teaching on students’ problemsolving skills in physics through a quasi-experimental approach. Problemsolving performance of students was described quantitatively through their mean problemsolving scores and problemsolving skills level. A unit plan patterned from the cognitive apprenticeship approach and contextualized using maritime context of ship stability was implemented on the experimental group while the control group had the conventional lecture method. Pre and post assessment, which is a researcher-developed word problem assessment, was administered to both groups. Results indicated increased problemsolving mean scores (p < 0.001, problemsolving skill level (p < 0.001 of the experimental group while the control group increased only their problemsolving skill level (p = 0.008. Thus, contextualized teaching can improve the problemsolving performance of students. This study recommends using contextualization using other physics topics where other contexts can be applied.

EPR spectroscopy is a very powerful biophysical tool that can provide valuable structural and dynamic information on a wide variety of biological systems. The intent of this review is to provide a general overview for biochemists and biological researchers on the most commonly used EPR methods and how these techniques can be used to answer important biological questions. The topics discussed could easily fill one or more textbooks; thus, we present a brief background on several important biological EPR techniques and an overview of several interesting studies that have successfully used EPR to solve pertinent biological problems. The review consists of the following sections: an introduction to EPR techniques, spin labeling methods, and studies of naturally occurring organic radicals and EPR active transition metal systems which are presented as a series of case studies in which EPR spectroscopy has been used to greatly further our understanding of several important biological systems. PMID:23961941

Full Text Available In a railroad system, train pathing is concerned with the assignment of trains to links and tracks, and train timetabling allocates time slots to trains. In this paper, we present an optimization heuristic to solve the train pathing and timetabling problem. This heuristic allows the dwell time of trains in a station or link to be dependent on the assigned tracks. It also allows the minimum clearance time between the trains to depend on their relative status. The heuristic generates a number of alternative paths for each train service in the initialization phase. Then it uses a neighborhood search approach to find good feasible combinations of these paths. A linear program is developed to evaluate the quality of each combination that is encountered. Numerical examples are provided.

Relative Effects of Problem-Solving and Concept Mapping Instructional ... mapping strategies are also discussed and their significance and importance to students. ... development of problemsolving skills before the end of SSCE Programmebr ...

Do gestures merely reflect problem-solving processes, or do they play a functional role in problemsolving? We hypothesized that gestures highlight and structure perceptual-motor information, and thereby make such information more likely to be used in problemsolving. Participants in two experiments solvedproblems requiring the prediction of gear movement, either with gesture allowed or with gesture prohibited. Such problems can be correctly solved using either a perceptual-motor strategy (simulation of gear movements) or an abstract strategy (the parity strategy). Participants in the gesture-allowed condition were more likely to use perceptual-motor strategies than were participants in the gesture-prohibited condition. Gesture promoted use of perceptual-motor strategies both for participants who talked aloud while solving the problems (Experiment 1) and for participants who solved the problems silently (Experiment 2). Thus, spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problemsolving.

In this paper, we explore theoretical and practical aspects of the automatic generation of knowledge spaces from problemsolving strategies. We show how the generated spaces can be used for adapting strategy-based problemsolving learning environments (PSLEs).

(iii). lack of organizational skill in solving quantitative problems. (Onwu, 1982, Onwu ... improved in terms of conceptual thinking, intuitive knowledge and insightful ... ProblemSolving: This is a cognitive learning strategy which has to do with ...

Students' Competence in some ProblemSolving Skills throughout their B.Sc. Course. ... there is a need for explicitly identifying important cognitive skills and strategies and ... Keywords: Cognitive skills, thinking skills, problemsolving, students' ...

Teaching physics to first-year university students (in the USA: junior/senior level) is often hampered by their lack of skills in the underlying mathematics, and that in turn may block their understanding of the physics and their ability to solveproblems. Examples are vector algebra, differential

This part of the work deals with perturbation theory. The standard technique permits us to solveproblems of volume disturbances in free space, waveguides, and cavities, of disturbances of boundary conditions caused by finite conductivity of walls, and of disturbances of the boundary shape. Expressions for frequency and wave number shifts caused by the perturbation are obtained by the unified method. Several examples are presented: wave amplification in the waveguide filled with a resonant medium like an electron beam in a longitudinal magnetic field, the frequency shift (and increment/decrement) of a cavity loaded by an electron beam, and the field disturbance in the waveguide caused by finite conductivity of the walls. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

This book starts with a concise but rigorous overview of the basic notions of projective geometry, using straightforward and modern language. The goal is not only to establish the notation and terminology used, but also to offer the reader a quick survey of the subject matter. In the second part, the book presents more than 200 solvedproblems, for many of which several alternative solutions are provided. The level of difficulty of the exercises varies considerably: they range from computations to harder problems of a more theoretical nature, up to some actual complements of the theory. The structure of the text allows the reader to use the solutions of the exercises both to master the basic notions and techniques and to further their knowledge of the subject, thus learning some classical results not covered in the first part of the book. The book addresses the needs of undergraduate and graduate students in the theoretical and applied sciences, and will especially benefit those readers with a solid grasp of ...

Full Text Available The dynamic challenges of an increasingly borderless world buoyed by advances in telecommunications and information technology has resulted in educational reform and subsequently, a reconceptualisation of what constitutes a learner, learning and the influence of the learning environment on the process of learning. In keeping up with the changing trends and challenges of an increasingly networked, dynamic and challenging international community, means to provide an alternative environment that stimulates inquiry and equips learners with the skills needed to manage technological change and innovations must be considered. This paper discusses the importance of interaction, cognition and context, collaboration in a networked computer-mediated environment, the problem-solving approach as a catalyst in stimulating creative and critical thinking and in providing context for meaningful interaction and whether the interactive environment created through computer-mediated collaboration will motivate learners to be responsible for their own learning and be independent thinkers. The sample involved learners from three schools in three different countries. Findings conclude that a rich interactive environment must be personally relevant to the learner by simulating authentic problems without lowering the degree of cognitive complexity. Review in curriculum, assessment and teacher training around constructivist principles are also imperative as these interrelated factors form part of the learning process system.

This article explores how teachers can foster an environment that facilitates social problemsolving when toddlers experience conflict, emotional dysregulation, and aggression. This article examines differences in child development and self-regulation outcomes when teachers engage in problemsolving "for" toddlers and problemsolving "with"…

This paper focuses on the uses of systemic problemsolving in chemistry at the tertiary level. Traditional problemsolving (TPS) is a useful tool to help teachers examine recall of information, comprehension, and application. However, systemic problemsolving (SPS) can challenge students and probe higher cognitive skills ...

Mathematical problem-solving is notoriously difficult to teach in a standard university mathematics classroom. The project on which this article reports aimed to investigate the effect of the writing of explanatory strategies in the context of mathematical problemsolving on problem-solving behaviour. This article serves to describe the…

Scaffolding students' problemsolving and helping them to improve problemsolving skills are critical in instructional design courses. This study investigated the effects of students' uses of a digital mapping tool on their problemsolving performance in a design case study. It was found that the students who used the digital mapping tool…

Problemsolving has been a core theme in education for several decades. Educators and policy makers agree on the importance of the role of problemsolving skills for school and real life success. A primary purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cognitive abilities on mathematical problemsolving performance of students. The…

The ability to solveproblems in a variety of contexts is becoming increasingly important in our rapidly changing technological society. Problem-solving is a complex process that is important for everyday life and crucial for learning physics. Although there is a great deal of effort to improve student problemsolving skills throughout the…

The examination of problem-solving processes continues to be a current research topic in education. Knowing how to solveproblems is not only a key aspect of learning mathematics but is also at the heart of cognitive theories, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and computers sciences. Problemsolving is a multistep, higher-order cognitive task…

This paper outlines the NAX problemsolving approach developed by a group of problemsolving experts at a large Danish Producer of medical equipment. The company, “Medicmeter” is one of Denmark’s leading companies when it comes to lean and it has developed a strong problemsolving culture. The ma...

The study challenged the current practices in cognitive load measurement involving complex problemsolving by manipulating the presence of pictures in multiple rule-based problem-solving situations and examining the cognitive load resulting from both off-line and online measures associated with complex problemsolving. Forty-eight participants…

Full spectrum of a large sparse ⊤-palindromic quadratic eigenvalueproblem (⊤-PQEP) is considered arguably for the first time in this article. Such a problem is posed by calculation of surface Green's functions (SGFs) of mesoscopic transistors with a tremendous non-periodic cross-section. For this problem, general purpose eigensolvers are not efficient, nor is advisable to resort to the decimation method etc. to obtain the Wiener-Hopf factorization. After reviewing some rigorous understanding of SGF calculation from the perspective of ⊤-PQEP and nonlinear matrix equation, we present our new approach to this problem. In a nutshell, the unit disk where the spectrum of interest lies is broken down adaptively into pieces small enough that they each can be locally tackled by the generalized ⊤-skew-Hamiltonian implicitly restarted shift-and-invert Arnoldi (G⊤SHIRA) algorithm with suitable shifts and other parameters, and the eigenvalues missed by this divide-and-conquer strategy can be recovered thanks to the accurate estimation provided by our newly developed scheme. Notably the novel non-equivalence deflation is proposed to avoid as much as possible duplication of nearby known eigenvalues when a new shift of G⊤SHIRA is determined. We demonstrate our new approach by calculating the SGF of a realistic nanowire whose unit cell is described by a matrix of size 4000 × 4000 at the density functional tight binding level, corresponding to a 8 × 8nm2 cross-section. We believe that quantum transport simulation of realistic nano-devices in the mesoscopic regime will greatly benefit from this work.

In a companion paper, we discuss students' ability to take advantage of what they learn from a solvedproblem and transfer their learning to solve a quiz problem that has different surface features but the same underlying physics principles. Here, we discuss students' ability to perform analogical reasoning between another pair of problems. Both the problems can be solved using the same physics principles. However, the solvedproblem provided was a two-step problem (which can be solved by decomposing it into two sub-problems) while the quiz problem was a three-step problem. We find that it is challenging for students to extend what they learned from a two-step problem to solve a three-step problem.

Students learn mathematics by solvingproblems. Mathematics textbooks are full of problems, and mathematics teachers use these problems to test students' understanding of mathematical concepts. This paper discusses how problem-solving skills can be fostered with a geometric tiling problem.

The Helmholtz-Poincare Wave Equation (H-PWE) arises in many areas of classical wave scattering theory. In particular it can be found for the cases of acoustical scattering from submerged bounded objects and electromagnetic scattering from objects. The extended boundary integral equations (EBIE) method is derived from considering both the exterior and interior solutions of the H-PWE's. This coupled set of expressions has the advantage of not only offering a prescription for obtaining a solution for the exterior scattering problem, but it also obviates the problem of irregular values corresponding to fictitious interior eigenvalues. Once the coupled equations are derived, they can by obtained in matrix form be expanding all relevant terms in partial wave expansions, including a biorthogonal expansion of the Green function. However some freedom of choice in the choice of the surface expansion is available since the unknown surface quantities may be expanded in a variety of ways to long as closure is obtained. Out of many possible choices, we develop an optimal method to obtain such expansions which is based on the optimum eigenfunctions related to the surface of the object. In effect, we convert part of the problem (that associated with the Fredholms integral equation of the first kind) an eigenvalueproblem of a related Hermition operator. The methodology will be explained in detail and examples will be presented

This paper presents a scheme to obtain the fundamental and few dominant solutions of the prompt time eigenvalueproblem (referred to as α-eigenvalueproblem) for a nuclear reactor using multi-group neutron diffusion theory. The scheme is based on the use of an algorithm called Orthomin(1). This algorithm was originally proposed by Suetomi and Sekimoto [Suetomi, E., Sekimoto, H., 1991. Conjugate gradient like methods and their application to eigenvalueproblems for neutron diffusion equations. Ann. Nucl. Energy 18 (4), 205-227] to obtain the fundamental K-eigenvalue (K-effective) of nuclear reactors. Recently, it has been shown that the algorithm can be used to obtain the further dominant K-modes also. Since α-eigenvalueproblem is usually more difficult to solve than the K-eigenvalueproblem, an attempt has been made here to use Orthomin(1) for its solution. Numerical results are given for realistic 3-D test case

This work explores a distributed problemsolving (DPS) approach, namely the AM/AG model, to cooperative memory recall. The AM/AG model is a hierarchic social system metaphor for DPS based on the Mintzberg's model of organizations. At the core of the model are information flow mechanisms, named amplification and aggregation. Amplification is a process of expounding a given task, called an agenda, into a set of subtasks with magnified degree of specificity and distributing them to multiple processing units downward in the hierarchy. Aggregation is a process of combining the results reported from multiple processing units into a unified view, called a resolution, and promoting the conclusion upward in the hierarchy. The combination of amplification and aggregation can account for a memory recall process which primarily relies on the ability of making associations between vast amounts of related concepts, sorting out the combined results, and promoting the most plausible ones. The amplification process is discussed in detail. An implementation of the amplification process is presented. The process is illustrated by an example.

Most of architects and urban designers believe physical design gives impact on our social life. For example, a sign or landmark in the middle of a city makes people find orientation easier. In vice verse, most of social scientists believe it is social dynamic that plays role in shaping our space. How people spend their time moving from real space into cyber space is a proof that life style and IT give impact to space usage. This paper argues that interaction between physical design and social change is a two ways process. Both design aspect and social dynamic influence each other. This paper aims to examine how designing of gated community plays important role in increasing or decreasing segregation, both spatially and socially. The paper explores some architectural design principles applied in a gated community called CitraLand in west Surabaya, Indonesia, and addresses segregation between CitraLanders and outside kampung. We find CitraLand is designed openly and fully accessible for outsiders. It provides public spaces and several accessible gates and streets without walls and fences making all places inside and outside CitraLand spatially integrated. What’s interesting is it still reinforces social segregation due to its policy on prohibiting using the public park. We believe CitraLand’s planning and designing has successfully solved segregation problem spatially not socially.

This work arises from our teaching this subject during many years. The vast majority of these exercises are the exams we gave to our students in this period. We carefully selected the subjects of the exercises to cover all the material which is most needed and which is treated in the most well known texts on these subjects. Each exercise is carefully solved in full details, explaining the theory behind the solution with particular care for those issues that, from our experience, are found most difficult from the average student. Indeed, several exercises are designed to throw light on aspects of the theory that, for one reason or another, are usually neglected with the result to make the students feel uneasy about them. In fact most students get acquainted just with the more common manipulations, which are illustrated by many examples in textbooks. Our exercises never require extensive calculations but tend to be somewhat unusual and force the solver to think about the problem starting from the ...

Flexibility is an ability which is needed in problemsolving. One of the ways in problemsolving is influenced by Adversity Quotient (AQ). AQ is the power of facing difficulties. There are three categories of AQ namely climber, camper, and quitter. This research is a descriptive research using qualitative approach. The aim of this research is to describe flexibility in mathematics problemsolving based on Adversity Quotient. The subjects of this research are climber student, camper student, and quitter student. This research was started by giving Adversity Response Profile (ARP) questioner continued by giving problemsolving task and interviews. The validity of data measurement was using time triangulation. The results of this research shows that climber student uses two strategies in solvingproblem and doesn’t have difficulty. The camper student uses two strategies in solvingproblem but has difficulty to finish the second strategies. The quitter student uses one strategy in solvingproblem and has difficulty to finish it.

The purpose of this article was to find out the enhancement of students’ mathematical problemsolving by using visual learning media. The ability to solve mathematical problems is the ability possessed by students to solveproblems encountered, one of the problem-solving model of Polya. This preliminary study was not to make a model, but it only took a conceptual approach by comparing the various literature of problem-solving skills by linking visual learning media. The results of the study indicated that the use of learning media had not been appropriated so that the ability to solve mathematical problems was not optimal. The inappropriateness of media use was due to the instructional media that was not adapted to the characteristics of the learners. Suggestions that can be given is the need to develop visual media to increase the ability to solveproblems.

Defines problemsolving, discusses the use of problems developed by students that are relevant to their own lives, presents examples of practical mathematics problems that deal with local situations, discusses fringe benefits of this type of problemsolving, and addresses teachers' concern that this method consumes too much time. (MBR)

Parallelization of Monte Carlo simulation is widely adpoted. There are also several parallel algorithms developed for the SN transport theory using the parallel wave sweeping algorithm and for the CPM using parallel ray tracing. For practical purpose of reactor physics application, the thermal feedback and burnup effects on the multigroup cross section should be considered. In this respect, the domain decomposition method(DDM) is suitable for distributing the expensive cross section calculation work. Parallel transport code and diffusion code based on the Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element method was developed. However most of the developed methods rely on the heuristic convergence of flux and current at the domain interfaces. Convergence was not attained in some cases. Mechanical stress computation community has also work on the DDM to solve the stress-strain equation using the finite element methods. The most successful domain decomposition method in terms of robustness is FETI-DP. We have modified the original FETI-DP to solve the eigenvalueproblem for the multigroup diffusion problem in this study.

Cognitive load theory was used to hypothesize that a general problem-solving strategy based on a make-as-many-moves-as-possible heuristic could facilitate problem solutions for transfer problems. In four experiments, school students were required to learn about a topic through practice with a general problem-solving strategy, through a conventional problemsolving strategy or by studying worked examples. In Experiments 1 and 2 using junior high school students learning geometry, low knowledge students in the general problem-solving group scored significantly higher on near or far transfer tests than the conventional problem-solving group. In Experiment 3, an advantage for a general problem-solving group over a group presented worked examples was obtained on far transfer tests using the same curriculum materials, again presented to junior high school students. No differences between conditions were found in Experiments 1, 2, or 3 using test problems similar to the acquisition problems. Experiment 4 used senior high school students studying economics and found the general problem-solving group scored significantly higher than the conventional problem-solving group on both similar and transfer tests. It was concluded that the general problem-solving strategy was helpful for novices, but not for students that had access to domain-specific knowledge. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

The coarse-mesh rebalancing technique is introduced into the general-purpose neutron and gamma-ray Monte Carlo transport code MORSE, to accelerate the convergence rate of the iteration process for eigenvalue calculation in a nuclear reactor system. Two subroutines are thus attached to the code. One is bookkeeping routine 'COARSE' for obtaining the quantities related with the neutron balance in each coarse mesh cell, such as the number of neutrons absorbed in the cell, from random walks of neutrons in a batch. The other is rebalance factor calculation routine 'REBAL' for obtaining the scaling factor whereby the neutron flux in the cell is multiplied to attain the neutron balance. The two subroutines and algorithm of the coarse mesh rebalancing acceleration in a Monte Carlo game are described. (auth.)

Problemsolving therapy (PST) is one of the focused psychological strategies supported by Medicare for use by appropriately trained general practitioners. This article reviews the evidence base for PST and its use in the general practice setting. Problemsolving therapy involves patients learning or reactivating problemsolving skills. These skills can then be applied to specific life problems associated with psychological and somatic symptoms. Problemsolving therapy is suitable for use in general practice for patients experiencing common mental health conditions and has been shown to be as effective in the treatment of depression as antidepressants. Problemsolving therapy involves a series of sequential stages. The clinician assists the patient to develop new empowering skills, and then supports them to work through the stages of therapy to determine and implement the solution selected by the patient. Many experienced GPs will identify their own existing problemsolving skills. Learning about PST may involve refining and focusing these skills.

Research on cognitive aspects of mathematical problemsolving has made great progress in recent years, but the relationship of affective factors to problem-solving performance has been a neglected research area. The purpose of Affect and Mathematical ProblemSolving: A New Perspective is to show how the theories and methods of cognitive science can be extended to include the role of affect in mathematical problemsolving. The book presents Mandler's theory of emotion and explores its implications for the learning and teaching of mathematical problemsolving. Also, leading researchers from mathematics, education, and psychology report how they have integrated affect into their own cognitive research. The studies focus on metacognitive processes, aesthetic influences on expert problem solvers, teacher decision-making, technology and teaching problemsolving, and beliefs about mathematics. The results suggest how emotional factors like anxiety, frustration, joy, and satisfaction can help or hinder performance in...

The equivalence of a considered integral equation form with an infinite system of linear equations is proved, and the localization of the eigenvalues of the infinite system is expressed. Error estimates are derived, and the problems of finding upper bounds and lower bounds for the eigenvalues are solved simultaneously.

A method for solving coupled eigenvalue differential equations is given and its relation to an existing technique is shown. Use of the Gram-Schmidt process to overcome the severe instabilities arising in molecular problems is described in detail. (orig.)

While effective and efficient solving of everyday problems is important in business domains, little is known about the effects of workplace monitoring on problem-solving performance. In a laboratory experiment, we explored the monitoring environment's effects on an individual's propensity to (1) establish pattern solutions to problems, (2) recognize when pattern solutions are no longer efficient, and (3) solve complex problems. Under three work monitoring regimes-no monitoring, human monitoring, and electronic monitoring-114 participants solved puzzles for monetary rewards. Based on research related to worker autonomy and theory of social facilitation, we hypothesized that monitored (versus non-monitored) participants would (1) have more difficulty finding a pattern solution, (2) more often fail to recognize when the pattern solution is no longer efficient, and (3) solve fewer complex problems. Our results support the first two hypotheses, but in complex problemsolving, an interaction was found between self-assessed ability and the monitoring environment.

Full Text Available The paper describes one of the ways of developing pupils’ creative approach to problemsolving. The described experiment is a part of a longitudinal research focusing on improvement of culture of problemsolving by pupils. It deals with solving of problems using the following heuristic strategies: Analogy, Guess – check – revise, Systematic experimentation, Problem reformulation, Solution drawing, Way back and Use of graphs of functions. Most attention is paid to the question whether short-term work, in this case only over the period of three months, can result in improvement of pupils’ abilities to solveproblems whose solving algorithms are easily accessible. It also answers the question which strategies pupils will prefer and with what results. The experiment shows that even short-term work can bear positive results as far as pupils’ approach to problemsolving is concerned.

High levels of acute and chronic stress are known to impair problem-solving and creativity on a broad range of tasks. Despite this evidence, we know little about protective factors for mitigating the deleterious effects of stress on problem-solving. Building on previous research showing that self-affirmation can buffer stress, we tested whether an experimental manipulation of self-affirmation improves problem-solving performance in chronically stressed participants. Eighty undergraduates indicated their perceived chronic stress over the previous month and were randomly assigned to either a self-affirmation or control condition. They then completed 30 difficult remote associate problem-solving items under time pressure in front of an evaluator. Results showed that self-affirmation improved problem-solving performance in underperforming chronically stressed individuals. This research suggests a novel means for boosting problem-solving under stress and may have important implications for understanding how self-affirmation boosts academic achievement in school settings.

Problem-solving skills are often identified as a key component of 21st century education. This study collected data from students enrolled in a university-level Liberal Education science course called "Problems and Puzzles," which introduced students to the theory and practice of problemsolving via puzzles. Based on classroom…

This paper reports on a conversation analytic study of problem-solving interactions during shared reading at three kindergartens in the Netherlands. It illustrates how teachers and pupils discuss book characters' problems that arise in the events in the picture books. A close analysis of the data demonstrates that problem-solving interactions do…

In mathematical problemsolving, American students are falling behind their global peers because of a lack of foundational and reasoning skills. A specific area of difficulty with problemsolving is working non-routine, heuristic-based problems. Many students are not provided with effective instruction and often grow frustrated and dislike math.…

... with crisp data. In this paper, the idea of Ghiyasvand was extended for solving the minimum ﬂow problem with interval-valued lower, upper bounds and ﬂows. This problem can be solved using two minimum ﬂow problems with crisp data. Then, this result is extended to networks with fuzzy lower, upper bounds and ﬂows.

Studies suggest that deficits in social problem-solving may be associated with increased risk of depression and suicidality in children and adolescents. It is unclear, however, which specific dimensions of social problem-solving are related to depression and suicidality among youth. Moreover, rational problem-solving strategies and problem-solving motivation may moderate or predict change in depression and suicidality among children and adolescents receiving treatment. The effect of social problem-solving on acute treatment outcomes were explored in a randomized controlled trial of 439 clinically depressed adolescents enrolled in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). Measures included the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R), the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire--Grades 7-9 (SIQ-Jr), and the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R). A random coefficients regression model was conducted to examine main and interaction effects of treatment and SPSI-R subscale scores on outcomes during the 12-week acute treatment stage. Negative problem orientation, positive problem orientation, and avoidant problem-solving style were non-specific predictors of depression severity. In terms of suicidality, avoidant problem-solving style and impulsiveness/carelessness style were predictors, whereas negative problem orientation and positive problem orientation were moderators of treatment outcome. Implications of these findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The ability to couple problemsolving both to the understanding of chemical concepts and to laboratory practices is an essential skill for undergraduate chemistry programs to foster in our students. Therefore, chemistry programs must offer opportunities to answer real problems that require use of problem-solving processes used by practicing…

Mathematically promising students are defined as those who have the potential to become the leaders and problem solvers of the future. The purpose of this research is to reveal what problemsolving abilities mathematically promising students show in solving non-routine problems and type of profiles they present in the classroom and during problem…

This textbook is intended for a basic course in problemsolving and program design needed by scientists and engineers using the TI-92. The TI-92 is an extremely powerful problemsolving tool that can help you manage complicated problems quickly. We assume no prior knowledge of computers or

Qualitative interviews on family and financial problems from 332 adolescents, young, middle-aged, and older adults, demonstrated that developmentally relevant goals predicted problem-solving strategy use over and above problem domain. Four focal goals concerned autonomy, generativity, maintaining good relationships with others, and changing another person. We examined both self- and other-focused problem-solving strategies. Autonomy goals were associated with self-focused instrumental problemsolving and generative goals were related to other-focused instrumental problemsolving in family and financial problems. Goals of changing another person were related to other-focused instrumental problemsolving in the family domain only. The match between goals and strategies, an indicator of problem-solving adaptiveness, showed that young individuals displayed the greatest match between autonomy goals and self-focused problemsolving, whereas older adults showed a greater match between generative goals and other-focused problemsolving. Findings speak to the importance of considering goals in investigations of age-related differences in everyday problemsolving.

The study tries to give information on the leadership behavior of restaurant managers in their problemsolving. The results of the study were collected by evaluating three restaurant managers by interviewing them. The restaurant managers’ answers were compared to transformational and transactional leadership model and the aspects of it. Their problemsolving skills were evaluated by the help of a rational and creative problemsolving model. The study showed that restaurant managers have both ...

Purpose Research has shown that the problem-solving skills of adults with a vocational education and training (VET) background in technology-rich environments (TREs) are often inadequate. However, some adults with a VET background do have sound problem-solving skills. The present study aims to provide insight into the socio-demographic, work-related and everyday life factors that are associated with a strong problem-solving performance. Design/methodology/approach The study builds...

Problem-solving methods provide reusable architectures and components for implementing the reasoning part of knowledge-based systems. The UNIFIED PROBLEM-SOLVING METHOD DESCRIPTION LANGUAGE (UPML) has been developed to describe and implement such architectures and components to facilitate their semi-automatic reuse and adaptation. In a nutshell, UPML is a framework for developing knowledge-intensive reasoning systems based on libraries ofg eneric problem-solving components. The paper describe...

.... The thesis designs a system using this architecture that invokes operations research network optimization algorithms to solveproblems involving movement of people and equipment over dynamic road networks...

The relation between Lakatos' theory and issues in mathematics education, especially mathematical problemsolving, is investigated by examining Lakatos' methodology of a scientific research program. (AIM)

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ scheme in solving mathematics problems. Scheme are data structures for representing the concepts stored in memory. In this study, we used it in solving mathematics problems, especially ratio and proportion topics. Scheme is related to problemsolving that assumes that a system is developed in the human mind by acquiring a structure in which problemsolving procedures are integrated with some concepts. The data were collected by interview and students’ written works. The results of this study revealed are students’ scheme in solving the problem of ratio and proportion as follows: (1) the content scheme, where students can describe the selected components of the problem according to their prior knowledge, (2) the formal scheme, where students can explain in construct a mental model based on components that have been selected from the problem and can use existing schemes to build planning steps, create something that will be used to solveproblems and (3) the language scheme, where students can identify terms, or symbols of the components of the problem.Therefore, by using the different strategies to solve the problems, the students’ scheme in solving the ratio and proportion problems will also differ.

undertaken by 29 subsidiary units supports our hypotheses, demonstrating that these activities are a means to systematically reduce inherent problemsolving biases. This study contributes to problemsolving theory, the literature on headquarters’ roles in complex organizations, as well as the literature......This study examines subsidiary-driven problemsolving processes and their potential to create advanced solutions for charter extension options. Problemsolving theory suggests that biases in problem formulation and solution search can confine problemsolving potential. We thus argue that balanced...... solution search, or activities to reconcile the need for some solution features to be locally-tailored while others can be internationally standardized, mediates the relationships between problem complexity/headquarters involvement and the capacity to create advanced solutions. An analysis of 67 projects...

The teaching of mathematics involves problemsolving skills which prove to be difficult on the part of the pupils due to misrepresentation of the word problems. Oftentimes, pupils tend to represent the phrase "more than" as addition and the word difference as "- ". This paper aims to address the problemsolving skills of grade…

Groups and organizations, or in general multi-actor decision-making groups, frequently come across complex problems in which neither the problem definition nor the interrelations of parts that make up the problem are well defined. In these kinds of situations, members of a decision-making group

What makes problemsolving in physics difficult? How do students solve physics problems, and how does this compare to an expert physicist's strategy? Over the past twenty years, physics education research has revealed several differences between novice and expert problemsolving. The work of Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser demonstrates that novices tend to categorize problems based on surface features, while experts categorize according to theory, principles, or concepts1. If there are differences between how problems are categorized, then are there differences between how physics problems are solved? Learning more about the problemsolving process, including how students like to learn and what is most effective, requires both qualitative and quantitative analysis. In an effort to learn how novices and experts solve introductory electricity problems, a series of in-depth interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. One-way ANOVA tests were performed in order to learn if there are any significant problemsolving differences between: (a) novices and experts, (b) genders, (c) students who like to answer questions in class and those who don't, (d) students who like to ask questions in class and those who don't, (e) students employing an interrogative approach to problemsolving and those who don't, and (f) those who like physics and those who dislike it. The results of both the qualitative and quantitative methods reveal that inquiry-based problemsolving is prevalent among novices and experts, and frequently leads to the correct physics. These findings serve as impetus for the third dimension of this work: the development of Choose Your Own Adventure Physics(c) (CYOAP), an innovative teaching tool in physics which encourages inquiry-based problemsolving. 1Chi, M., P. Feltovich, R. Glaser, "Categorization and Representation of Physics Problems by Experts and Novices", Cognitive Science, 5, 121--152 (1981).

We consider nonwandering dynamics near heteroclinic cycles between two hyperbolic equilibria. The constituting heteroclinic connections are assumed to be such that one of them is transverse and isolated. Such heteroclinic cycles are associated with the termination of a branch of homoclinic solutions, and called T-points in this context. We study codimension-two T-points and their unfoldings in Rn. In our consideration we distinguish between cases with real and complex leading eigenvalues of the equilibria. In doing so we establish Lin's method as a unified approach to (re)gain and extend results of Bykov's seminal studies and related works. To a large extent our approach reduces the study to the discussion of intersections of lines and spirals in the plane. Case (RR): Under open conditions on the eigenvalues, there exist open sets in parameter space for which there exist periodic orbits close to the heteroclinic cycle. In addition, there exist two one-parameter families of homoclinic orbits to each of the saddle points p1 and p2.See Theorem 2.1 and Proposition 2.2 for precise statements and Fig. 2 for bifurcation diagrams. Cases (RC) and (CC): At the bifurcation point μ=0 and for each N≥2, there exists an invariant set S0N close to the heteroclinic cycle on which the first return map is topologically conjugated to a full shift on N symbols. For any fixed N≥2, the invariant set SμN persists for |μ| sufficiently small.In addition, there exist infinitely many transversal and non-transversal heteroclinic orbits connecting the saddle points p1 and p2 in a neighbourhood of μ=0, as well as infinitely many one-parameter families of homoclinic orbits to each of the saddle points.For full statements of the results see Theorem 2.3 and Propositions 2.4, 2.5 and Fig. 3 for bifurcation diagrams. The dynamics near T-points has been studied previously by Bykov [6-10], Glendinning and Sparrow [20], Kokubu [27,28] and Labouriau and Rodrigues [30,31,38]. See also the surveys

Full Text Available The Semiring Constraint Satisfaction Problem (SCSP) framework is a popular approach for the representation of partial constraint satisfaction problems. Considerable research has been done in solving SCSPs, but limited work has been done in building...

Due to impreciseness to solve the day to day problems the researchers use fuzzy sets in their discussions of the replacement problems. The aim of this paper is to solve the replacement theory problems with triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. An effective methodology based on fuzziness index and location index is proposed to determine the optimal solution of the replacement problem. A numerical example is illustrated to validate the proposed method.

Students' difficulties in quantum mechanics may be the result of unproductive framing and not a fundamental inability to solve the problems or misconceptions about physics content. We observed groups of students solving quantum mechanics problems in an upper-division physics course. Using the lens of epistemological framing, we investigated four…

We are using stealth assessment, embedded in "Plants vs. Zombies 2," to measure middle-school students' problemsolving skills. This project started by developing a problemsolving competency model based on a thorough review of the literature. Next, we identified relevant in-game indicators that would provide evidence about students'…

Social skills involved in leadership were examined in a problem-solving activity in which 252 Chinese 5th-graders worked in small groups on a spatial-reasoning puzzle. Results showed that students who engaged in peer-managed small-group discussions of stories prior to problemsolving produced significantly better solutions and initiated…

The main goal of this study is to find out the effect of the instructional design method on the enhancement of problemsolving abilities of students. Teaching sessions were applied to ten students who are in 11th grade, to teach them problemsolving strategies which are working backwards, finding pattern, adopting a different point of view,…

This report discusses the role of affect in cognitive processing. The importance of affect in processing mathematical information is described in the context of solving arithmetic story problems. Some ideas are offered about the way affective responses to mathematical problemsolving situations influence the development, maintenance, and retrieval…

A society's single emergent, increasing intelligence arises partly from the thermodynamic advantages of networking the innate intelligence of different individuals, and partly from the accumulation of solvedproblems. Economic growth is proportional to the square of the network entropy of a society's population times the network entropy of the number of the society's solvedproblems.

Behavioral and neuroimaging findings indicate that distinct cognitive and neural processes underlie solvingproblems with sudden insight. Moreover, people with less focused attention sometimes perform better on tests of insight and creative problemsolving. However, it remains unclear whether different states of attention, within individuals,…

Paints a different picture of students' reasoning with meiosis as they solved complex, computer-generated genetics problems, some of which required them to revise their understanding of meiosis in response to anomalous data. Students were able to develop a rich understanding of meiosis and can utilize that knowledge to solve genetics problems.…

This manual is to be used by leaders of RUPS (Research Utilizing ProblemSolving) workshops for school or district administrators. The workshop's goal is for administrators to develop problemsolving skills by using the RUPS simulation situations in a teamwork setting. Although workshop leaders should be familiar with the RUPS materials and…

In its mathematics standards, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) states that problemsolving is an integral part of all mathematics learning and exposure to problemsolving strategies should be embedded across the curriculum. Furthermore, by high school, students should be able to use, decide and invent a wide range of strategies.…

This work aims to demonstrate the use of Excel spreadsheets for solving L-L extraction problems. The key to solving the problems successfully is to be able to determine a tie line on the ternary diagram where the calculation must be carried out. This enables the reader to analyze the extraction process starting with a simple operation, the…

This study investigated the relationship between problem-solving ability and career maturity of secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. 230 final year secondary school students completed self-report measures of problemsolving and career maturity. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the data ...

Problemsolving is the highest level of cognitive skill. However, this skill seems to be lacking among secondary school students. Teachers' beliefs influence the instructional strategies used for students' learning. Hence, it is important to understand teachers' beliefs so as to improve the processes for teaching problemsolving. The purpose of…

Reports on a study into the relationship between a student's ability to solveproblems in chemistry and his/her understanding of molecular concepts. Argues that teaching students to solveproblems about chemistry is not equivalent to teaching about the nature of matter. (TW)

Introductory undergraduate physics courses aim to help students develop the skills and strategies necessary to solve complex, real world problems, but many students not only leave these courses with serious gaps in their conceptual understanding, but also maintain a novice-like approach to solvingproblems. "Matter and Interactions"…

The purpose of the present study was to examine direct and indirect relations among social problem-solving, depression, and aggression, as well as the mediating role of depression in the link between social problem-solving and aggression among Turkish youth. Data for the present study were collected from 413 adolescents. The participants' age…

Twenty middle grades students were interviewed to gain insights into their reasoning about problem-solving strategies using a ProblemSolving Justification Scheme as our theoretical lens and the basis for our analysis. The scheme was modified from the work of Harel and Sowder (1998) making it more broadly applicable and accounting for research…

In this study, the effects of teacher-directed and self-directed problem-solving strategies on students' attitudes toward physics were explored. Problem-solving strategies were used with the experimental group, while the control group was instructed using traditional teaching methods. The study was conducted with 270 students at various high…

In this research, we examine how problemsolving frameworks differ between Mathematics and Software Development. Our methodology is based on the assumption that the words used frequently in a book indicate the mental framework of the author. We compared word frequencies in a sample of 139 books that discuss problemsolving. The books were grouped…

The research reported in this paper was designed to investigate the hypothesis that computer programming may support the teaching and learning of problemsolving, but that to do so, problemsolving must be explicitly taught. Three studies involved students in several grades: 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th, and 12th. Findings collectively show that five…

Compared self-poisoning patients with psychiatric patients and nonpatient controls on problem-solving skills and locus of control. The psychiatric and self-poisoning groups showed deficits on interpersonal problemsolving compared with nonpatient controls. The self-poisoning group performed below or at the level of the psychiatric group. Locus of…

Offers a new approach to teaching problemsolving in technology education that encourages students to apply problem-solving skills to improving the human condition. Suggests that technology teachers incorporate elements of a Taoist approach in teaching by viewing technology as a tool with a goal of living a harmonious life. (JOW)

The paper presents a new approach for solving a fractional linear programming problem in which the objective function is a linear fractional function, while the constraint functions are in the form of linear inequalities. The approach adopted is based mainly upon solving the problem algebraically using the concept of duality ...

Outlines benefits of and skills involved in problemsolving. Details how an environment rich in materials that foster cause-and-effect or trial-and-error explorations promote cognitive development among toddlers. Offers examples of problem-solving experiences and lists materials for use in curriculum planning. Describes the teacher' role as one of…

In this paper we discuss how the interests and field theory promoted by public administration as a stakeholder in policy argumentation, directly arise from its problemsolving activities, using the framework for public administration problemsolving we proposed in [1,2]. We propose that calls for

The purpose of this study is to reveal the perception levels of problemsolving skills of elementary school students. The sample of the study is formed by totally 264 elementary students attending to 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade in a big city in Turkey. Data were collected by means of "Perception Scale for ProblemSolving Skills" which…

The rectangular assignment problem is a generalization of the linear assignment problem (LAP): one wants to assign a number of persons to a smaller number of jobs, minimizing the total corresponding costs. Applications are, e.g., in the fields of object recognition and scheduling. Further, we show

Behavioral flexibility is considered an important trait for adapting to environmental change, but it is unclear what it is, how it works, and whether it is a problemsolving ability. I investigated behavioral flexibility and problemsolving experimentally in great-tailed grackles, an invasive bird species and thus a likely candidate for possessing behavioral flexibility. Grackles demonstrated behavioral flexibility in two contexts, the Aesop's Fable paradigm and a color association test. Contrary to predictions, behavioral flexibility did not correlate across contexts. Four out of 6 grackles exhibited efficient problemsolving abilities, but problemsolving efficiency did not appear to be directly linked with behavioral flexibility. Problemsolving speed also did not significantly correlate with reversal learning scores, indicating that faster learners were not the most flexible. These results reveal how little we know about behavioral flexibility, and provide an immense opportunity for future research to explore how individuals and species can use behavior to react to changing environments.

This research is aimed to describe the effectiveness of discovery learning model on mathematical problemsolving. This research investigate the students' problemsolving competency before and after learned by using discovery learning model. The population used in this research was student in grade VII in one of junior high school in West Bandung Regency. From nine classes, class VII B were randomly selected as the sample of experiment class, and class VII C as control class, which consist of 35 students every class. The method in this research was quasi experiment. The instrument in this research is pre-test, worksheet and post-test about problemsolving of mathematics. Based on the research, it can be conclude that the qualification of problemsolving competency of students who gets discovery learning model on level 80%, including in medium category and it show that discovery learning model effective to improve mathematical problemsolving.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the problemsolving based on the type of cognitive style. Subjects used in this study are students of class X SMK located in Purworejo. The method used in this research is qualitative descriptive. Data collection techniques used in this research is a problem-solving test to determine student problemsolving and GEFT to determine the type of cognitive style possessed by students. The result of this research is to determine the mastery of each type in cognitive style, that is Field Independent type and Field Dependent type on problemsolving indicator. The impact of this research is the teacher can know the mastery of student problemsolving on each type of cognitive style so that teacher can determine the proper way of delivering to student at next meeting.

The main objective of this study was predicting student's mental health using social problemsolving- ability. In this correlational. descriptive study, 369 (208 female and 161 male) from, Mazandaran University of Medical Science were selected through stratified random sampling method. In order to collect the data, the social problemsolving inventory-revised and general health questionnaire were used. Data were analyzed through SPSS-19, Pearson's correlation, t test, and stepwise regression analysis. Data analysis showed significant relationship between social problemsolving ability and mental health (P Social problemsolving ability was significantly associated with the somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression (P social problemsolving ability and mental health.

Problemsolving skill is the core of mathematics education and its importance cannot be denied. This study specifically examined 56 freshmen pre-service mathematics teachers’ problemsolving processes on a specific problem with the help of Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP). They were grouped into two-person teams to solve a problem called "the mirror problem". They were expected to solve it by means of GSP. According to their works on GSP and related reflections, there appeared two differe...

The authors describe the concept of distributed problemsolving and defines it as the cooperative solution of problems by a decentralized and loosely coupled collection of problem solvers. This approach to problemsolving offers the promise of increased performance and provides a useful medium for exploring and developing new problem-solving techniques. A framework is presented called the contract net that specifies communication and control in a distribution problem solver. Task distribution is viewed as an interactive process, a discussion carried on between a node with a task to be executed and a group of nodes that may be able to execute the task. The kinds of information are described that must be passed between nodes during the discussion in order to obtain effective problem-solving behavior. This discussion is the origin of the negotiation metaphor: task distribution is viewed as a form of contract negotiation. 32 references.

Full Text Available We face with considerable challenge of developing students’ problemsolving skills in our difficult environment. Good problemsolving skills empower managers in their professional and personal lives. Problemsolving skills are valued by academics and employers. The informations in Biology are often presented in abstract forms without contextualisation. Creative problem-solving process involves a few steps, which together provide a structured procedure for identifying challenges, generating ideas and implementing innovative solutions: identifying the problem, searching for possible solutions, selecting the most optimal solution and implementing a possible solution. Each aspect of personality has a different orientation to problemsolving, different criteria for judging the effectiveness of the process and different associated strengths. Using real-world data in sample problems will also help facilitate the transfer process, since students can more easily identify with the context of a given situation. The paper describes the use of the Problem-Solving in Biology and the method of its administration. It also presents the results of a study undertaken to evaluate the value in teaching Biology. Problem-solving is seen as an essential skill that is developed in biology education.

To determine the effectiveness of Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) in older hemodialysis (HD) patients by assessing changes in health-related quality of life and problem-solving skills. 33 HD patients in an outpatient hemodialysis center without active medical and psychiatric illness were enrolled. The intervention group (n = 15) received PST from a licensed social worker for 6 weeks, whereas the control group (n = 18) received usual care treatment. In comparison to the control group, patients receiving PST intervention reported improved perceptions of mental health, were more likely to view their problems with a positive orientation and were more likely to use functional problem-solving methods. Furthermore, this group was also more likely to view their overall health, activity limits, social activities and ability to accomplish desired tasks with a more positive mindset. The results demonstrate that PST may positively impact mental health components of quality of life and problem-solving coping among older HD patients. PST is an effective, efficient, and easy to implement intervention that can benefit problem-solving abilities and mental health-related quality of life in older HD patients. In turn, this will help patients manage their daily living activities related to their medical condition and reduce daily stressors.

Presents an alternative method to teaching percent problems which uses a 10x10 grid to help students visualize percents. Offers a means of representing information and suggests different approaches for finding solutions. Includes reproducible student worksheet. (MKR)

This book presents a collection of exercises on dynamical systems, modelling and control. Each topic covered includes a summary of the theoretical background, problems with solutions, and further exercises.

Full Text Available Problem-solving skills are often identified as a key component of 21st century education. This study collected data from students enrolled in a university-level Liberal Education science course called Problems and Puzzles, which introduced students to the theory and practice of problemsolving via puzzles. Based on classroom observation and other qualitative data collected over three semesters, we have identified three significant changes in student behaviour at specific points in the course. These changes can be posited to reveal three underlying threshold concepts in the evolution and establishment of students’ problem-solving skills.

We show that the underlying mathematical structure of dimensional analysis (DA), in the qualitative methods in problem-solving context, is the algebra of the affine spaces. In particular, we show that the qualitative problem-solving procedure based on the parallel decomposition of a problem into simple special cases yields the new original mathematical concepts of special points and special representations of affine spaces. A qualitative problem-solving algorithm piloted by the mathematics of DA is illustrated by a set of examples.

A collaborative problem-solving system committed to the interests of those involved complies with the teachings of the total quality management movement in health care. Deming espoused that any quality system must become an integral part of routine activities. A process that is used consistently in dealing with problems, issues, or conflicts provides a mechanism for accomplishing total quality improvement. The collaborative problem-solving process described here results in quality decision-making. This model incorporates Ishikawa's cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagram, Moore's key causes of conflict, and the steps of the University of North Dakota Conflict Resolution Center's collaborative problemsolving model.

A classical inverse problem is "can you hear the density of a string clamped at both ends?" The mathematical model gives rise to an inverse Sturm-Liouville problem for the unknown density ñ, and it is well known that the answer is negative

In the present work we introduce a methodology for solving a quantum billiard with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The procedure starts from the exactly known solutions for the particle in a circular disk, which are subsequently radially rescaled in such a way that they obey the new boundary conditions. In this way one constructs a complete basis set which can be used to obtain the eigenstates and eigenenergies of the corresponding quantum billiard to a high level of precision. Test calculations for several regular polygons show the efficiency of the method which often requires one or two basis functions to describe the lowest eigenstates with high accuracy.

The ability to succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers is contingent on a student's ability to engage in mathematical problemsolving. As a result, there has been increased focus on students' ability to think critically by providing them more with problemsolving experiences in the classroom. Much research has…

Problemsolving is an important employability skill and considered valuable both in educational settings (Agran & Alper, 2000) and the workplace (Ju, Zhang, & Pacha, 2012). However, limited research exists instructing students with autism to engage in problemsolving skills (e.g., Bernard-Opitz, Sriram, & Nakhoda-Sapuan, 2001). The…

Physics is often seen as an excellent introduction to science because it allows students to learn not only the laws governing the world around them, but also, through the problems students solve, a way of thinking which is conducive to solvingproblems outside of physics and even outside of science. In this article, we contest this latter idea and argue that in physics classes, students do not learn widely applicable problem-solving skills because physics education almost exclusively requires students to solve well-defined problems rather than the less-defined problems which better model problemsolving outside of a formal class. Using personal, constructed, and the historical accounts of Schrödinger's development of the wave equation and Feynman's development of path integrals, we argue that what is missing in problem-solving education is practice in identifying gaps in knowledge and in framing these knowledge gaps as questions of the kind answerable using techniques students have learned. We discuss why these elements are typically not taught as part of the problem-solving curriculum and end with suggestions on how to incorporate these missing elements into physics classes.

The ability to solveproblems in a variety of contexts is becoming increasingly important in our rapidly changing technological society. Problem-solving is a complex process that is important for everyday life and crucial for learning physics. Although there is a great deal of effort to improve student problemsolving skills throughout the educational system, national studies have shown that the majority of students emerge from such courses having made little progress toward developing good problem-solving skills. The Physics Education Research Group at the University of Minnesota has been developing Internet computer coaches to help students become more expert-like problem solvers. During the Fall 2011 and Spring 2013 semesters, the coaches were introduced into large sections (200+ students) of the calculus based introductory mechanics course at the University of Minnesota. This dissertation, will address the research background of the project, including the pedagogical design of the coaches and the assessment of problemsolving. The methodological framework of conducting experiments will be explained. The data collected from the large-scale experimental studies will be discussed from the following aspects: the usage and usability of these coaches; the usefulness perceived by students; and the usefulness measured by final exam and problemsolving rubric. It will also address the implications drawn from this study, including using this data to direct future coach design and difficulties in conducting authentic assessment of problem-solving.

Sociodrama is presented as a structured, yet flexible, method of encouraging the use of creative thinking to examine a difficult problem. An example illustrates the steps involved in putting sociodrama into action. Production techniques useful in sociodrama include the soliloquy, double, role reversal, magic shop, unity of opposites, and audience…

This article describes a project which involved inner city elementary grade children with disabilities in writing and performing their own plays. A four-step playwriting process focuses on theme and character development, problem finding, and writing dialogue. The project has led to improved reading skills, attention, memory skills,…

The inverse scattering problem for the Schroedinger radial equation consisting in determining the potential according to the scattering phase is considered. The problem of potential restoration according to the phase specified with fixed error in a finite range is solved by the regularization method based on minimization of the Tikhonov's smoothing functional. The regularization method is used for solving the problem of neutron-proton potential restoration according to the scattering phases. The determined potentials are given in the table

Linear fractional programming problems are useful tools in production planning, financial and corporate planning, health care and hospital planning and as such have attracted considerable research interest. The paper presents a new approach for solving a fractional linear programming problem in which the objective function is a linear fractional function, while the constraint functions are in the form of linear inequalities. The approach adopted is based mainly upon solving the problem algebr...

Problem-solving skills are often identified as a key component of 21st century education. This study collected data from students enrolled in a university-level Liberal Education science course called Problems and Puzzles, which introduced students to the theory and practice of problemsolving via puzzles. Based on classroom observation and other qualitative data collected over three semesters, we have identified three significant changes in student behaviour at specific points in the course....

Satisfiability (SAT) problem is an NP-complete problem. Based on the analysis about it, SAT problem is translated equally into an optimization problem on the minimum of objective function. A hybrid differential evolution algorithm is proposed to solve the Satisfiability problem. It makes full use of strong local search capacity of hill-climbing algorithm and strong global search capability of differential evolution algorithm, which makes up their disadvantages, improves the efficiency of algorithm and avoids the stagnation phenomenon. The experiment results show that the hybrid algorithm is efficient in solving SAT problem.

Full Text Available Normal 0 14 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Recent studies showed that children with learning disabilities present significant difficulties in learning as well as in social skills (Siperstein, 2009.Therefore, it was observed how it is difficult for these children to establish adequate relationships, especially to advise coping strategies to face interpersonal conflicts (Oliva & LaGreca, 1988. Accordingly to this argument and with reference to Agaliotis e Kalyva (2004, 2009, this study examines the preferences for strategies to solve an hypothetical conflict on a sample of children with LD in comparison to typical developing peers. They used the method of social story to conduct this research. In fact, researchers asked to the children, after they have listened a short story describing an interpersonal conflict interaction between adult and peers, which strategies they would have chosen if they were in the same situation and the strategies that would be most appropriate to resolve a conflict. Results obtained from the experiment corroborated literature data and demonstrated that children with LD, in comparison to typical developing peers, use and prefer dysfunctional coping strategies, aggressive or passive, also in relation to the partner interaction (adult or peers to face interpersonal conflict.

This research aims to describe interference thinking in constructing students’ knowledge to solve mathematical problems. Interference thinking in solvingproblems occurs when students have two concepts that interfere with each other’s concept. Construction of problem-solving can be traced using Piaget’s assimilation and accommodation framework, helping to know the students’ thinking structures in solving the problems. The method of this research was a qualitative method with case research strategy. The data in this research involving problem-solving result and transcripts of interviews about students’ errors in solving the problem. The results of this research focus only on the student who experience proactive interference, where student in solving a problem using old information to interfere with the ability to recall new information. The student who experience interference thinking in constructing their knowledge occurs when the students’ thinking structures in the assimilation and accommodation process are incomplete. However, after being given reflection to the student, then the students’ thinking process has reached equilibrium condition even though the result obtained remains wrong.

According to our present knowledge depression and hopelessness play an important role in attempted suicide and the development of hopelessness seems to be closely associated with poor problemsolving skills. In the present study we have used the internationally well-known MEPS (Means-Ends ProblemSolving Test; a measure of social problemsolving ability) in Hungary for the first time and combined with other tests. We intended to explore the cognitive risk factors that potentially play a role in the suicidal behavior in clinical population. In our study we compared a group of individuals who had attempted suicide to a nonsuicidal psychiatric control group and a normal control group (61 subjects in each group). Our results confirm the findings of others that psychiatric patients have difficulties in social problemsolving compared to normal controls. Moreover, they generate less and poorer solutions. According to our data problemsolving skills of the two clinical groups were similar. A strong positive correlation was found between poor problemsolving skills, depression and hopelessness which may suggest that the development of problemsolving skills could help to reduce negative mood.

Full Text Available Mathematics word problems are one of the most challenging topics to learn and teach in secondary schools. This is especially the case in countries where English is not the first language for the majority of the people, such as in Brunei Darussalam. Researchers proclaimed that limited language proficiency and limited Mathematics strategies are the possible causes to this problem. However, whatever the reason is behind difficulties students face in solving Mathematical word problems, it is perhaps the teaching and learning of the Mathematics that need to be modified. For example, the use of four-square-and-a-diamond graphic organizer that infuses model drawing skill; and Polya’s problemsolving principles, to solve Mathematical word problems may be some of the strategies that can help in improving students’ word problemsolving skills. This study, through quantitative analysis found that the use of graphic organizer improved students’ performance in terms of Mathematical knowledge, Mathematical strategy and Mathematical explanation in solving word problems. Further qualitative analysis revealed that the use of graphic organizer boosted students’ confidence level and positive attitudes towards solving word problems.Keywords: Word Problems, Graphic Organizer, Algebra, Action Research, Secondary School Mathematics DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22342/jme.7.2.3546.83-90

The paper presents an approach which treats topics of macroeconomics by methods familiar in physics and technology, especially in nuclear reactor technology and in quantum mechanics. Such methods are applied to simplified models for the money flows within a national economy, their variation in time and thereby for the annual national growth rate. As usual, money flows stand for economic activities. The money flows between the economic groups are described by a set of difference equations or by a set of approximative differential equations or eventually by a set of linear algebraic equations. Thus this paper especially deals with the time behaviour of model economies which are under the influence of imbalances and of delay processes, thereby dealing also with economic growth and recession rates. These differential equations are solved by a completely numerical Runge-Kutta algorithm. Case studies are presented for cases with 12 groups only and are to show the capability of the methods which have been worked out. (orig.)

The paper presents an approach which treats topics of macroeconomics by methods familiar in physics and technology, especially in nuclear reactor technology and in quantum mechanics. Such methods are applied to simplified models for the money flows within a national economy, their variation in time and thereby for the annual national growth rate. As usual, money flows stand for economic activities. The money flows between the economic groups are described by a set of difference equations or by a set of approximative differential equations or eventually by a set of linear algebraic equations. Thus this paper especially deals with the time behaviour of model economies which are under the influence of imbalances and of delay processes, thereby dealing also with economic growth and recession rates. These differential equations are solved by a completely numerical Runge-Kutta algorithm. Case studies are presented for cases with 12 groups only and are to show the capability of the methods which have been worked out. (orig.)

Crowdsourcing is a process of accumulating the ideas, thoughts or information from many independent participants, with aim to find the best solution for a given challenge. Modern information technologies allow for massive number of subjects to be involved in a more or less spontaneous way. Still, the full potentials of crowdsourcing are yet to be reached. We introduce a modeling framework through which we study the effectiveness of crowdsourcing in relation to the level of collectivism in facing the problem. Our findings reveal an intricate relationship between the number of participants and the difficulty of the problem, indicating the optimal size of the crowdsourced group. We discuss our results in the context of modern utilization of crowdsourcing.

In recent years, finding sites for nuclear facilities, both reactors and waste repositories, has become more of a problem. While all agree that the difficulties are more than technical, a technical solution is presently pursued. The reverse Dutch auction generates a solution to siting. It produces a volunteer community or state, at the same time retaining public safety and environmental standards. No coercion is required. Elements of the system already exist in a number of public policy areas. (orig.) [de

Teachers should be able to choose the method of learning that can help students in learning physics, namely the method of problem posing and problemsolving method. The purposes of this study are : (1) describe the learning physics skills by using problem posing method, (2) describe the learning physics skills by using problemsolving method, and (3) know difference between learning physics skills by using problem posing method and problemsolving method in class XI of Science SMAN 6 Banjarma...

Problemsolving has been a core theme in education for several decades. Educators and policy makers agree on the importance of the role of problemsolving skills for school and real life success. A primary purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cognitive abilities on mathematical problemsolving performance of elementary…

Problemsolving is a complex process valuable in everyday life and crucial for learning in the STEM fields. To support the development of problem-solving skills it is important for researchers and curriculum developers to have practical tools that can measure the difference between novice and expert problem-solving performance in authentic…

This book basically caters to the needs of undergraduates and graduates physics students in the area of modern physics, specially particle and nuclear physics. Lecturers/tutors may use it as a resource book. The contents of the book are based on the syllabi currently used in the undergraduate courses in USA, U.K., and other countries. The book is divided into 10 chapters, each chapter beginning with a brief but adequate summary and necessary formulas, tables and line diagrams followed by a variety of typical problems useful for assignments and exams. Detailed solutions are provided at the end of each chapter.

Full Text Available This paper addresses a network problem that described as follows. There are n ports that interact, and p of those will be designated as hubs. All hubs are fully interconnected. Each spoke will be allocated to only one of available hubs. Direct connection between two spokes is allowed only if they are allocated to the same hub. The latter is a distinct characteristic that differs it from pure hub-and-spoke system. In case of pure hub-and-spoke system, direct connection between two spokes is not allowed. The problem is where to locate hub ports and to which hub a spoke should be allocated so that total transportation cost is minimum. In the first model, there are some additional aspects are taken into consideration in order to achieve a better representation of the problem. The first, weekly service should be accomplished. Secondly, various vessel types should be considered. The last, a concept of inter-hub discount factor is introduced. Regarding the last aspect, it represents cost reduction factor at hub ports due to economies of scale. In practice, it is common that the cost rate for inter-hub movement is less than the cost rate for movement between hub and origin/destination. In this first model, inter-hub discount factor is assumed independent with amount of flows on inter-hub links (denoted as flow-independent discount policy. The results indicated that the patterns of enlargement of container ship size, to some degree, are similar with those in Kurokawa study. However, with regard to hub locations, the results have not represented the real practice. In the proposed model, unsatisfactory result on hub locations is addressed. One aspect that could possibly be improved to find better hub locations is inter-hub discount factor. Then inter-hub discount factor is assumed to depend on amount of inter-hub flows (denoted as flow-dependent discount policy. There are two discount functions examined in this paper. Both functions are characterized by

ITOUGH2 is a program that provides inverse modeling capabilities for the TOUGH2 code. While the main purpose of ITOUGH2 is to estimate two-phase hydraulic properties of calibrating a TOUGH2 model to laboratory or field data, the information obtained by evaluating parameter sensitivities can also be used to optimize the design of an experiment, and to analyze the uncertainty of model predictions. ITOUGH2 has been applied to a number of laboratory and field experiments on different scales. Three examples are discussed in this paper, demonstrating the code`s capability to support test design, data analysis, and model predictions for a variety of TOUGH problems.

Engineers and scientists are increasingly required to design, test, and validate new complex systems in simulation environments and/or with limited experimental results due to international and/or budgetary restrictions. Dealing with complex systems requires assessing knowledge and information by critically evaluating them in terms relevance, completeness, non-distortion, coherence, and other key measures. Using the concepts and definitions from evolutionary knowledge and epistemology, ignorance is examined and classified in the paper. Two ignorance states for a knowledge agent are identified: (1) non-reflective (or blind) state, i.e. the person does not know of self-ignorance, a case of ignorance of ignorance; and (2) reflective state, i.e. the person knows and recognizes self-ignorance. Ignorance can be viewed to have a hierarchal classification based on its sources and nature as provided in the paper. The paper also explores limits on knowledge construction, closed and open world assumptions, and fundamentals of evidential reasoning using belief revision and diagnostics within the framework of ignorance analysis for knowledge construction. The paper also examines an algebraic problem set as identified by Sandia National Laboratories to be a basic building block for uncertainty propagation in computational mechanics. Solution algorithms are provided for the problem set for various assumptions about the state of knowledge about its parameters

Engineers and scientists are increasingly required to design, test, and validate new complex systems in simulation environments and/or with limited experimental results due to international and/or budgetary restrictions. Dealing with complex systems requires assessing knowledge and information by critically evaluating them in terms relevance, completeness, non-distortion, coherence, and other key measures. Using the concepts and definitions from evolutionary knowledge and epistemology, ignorance is examined and classified in the paper. Two ignorance states for a knowledge agent are identified: (1) non-reflective (or blind) state, i.e. the person does not know of self-ignorance, a case of ignorance of ignorance; and (2) reflective state, i.e. the person knows and recognizes self-ignorance. Ignorance can be viewed to have a hierarchal classification based on its sources and nature as provided in the paper. The paper also explores limits on knowledge construction, closed and open world assumptions, and fundamentals of evidential reasoning using belief revision and diagnostics within the framework of ignorance analysis for knowledge construction. The paper also examines an algebraic problem set as identified by Sandia National Laboratories to be a basic building block for uncertainty propagation in computational mechanics. Solution algorithms are provided for the problem set for various assumptions about the state of knowledge about its parameters.

Analogical problemsolving is mostly described as transfer of a source solution to a target problem based on the structural correspondences (mapping) between source and target. Derivational analogy (Carbonell, Machine learning: an artificial intelligence approach Los Altos. Morgan Kaufmann, 1986) proposes an alternative view: a target problem is solved by replaying a remembered problem-solving episode. Thus, the experience with the source problem is used to guide the search for the target solution by applying the same solution technique rather than by transferring the complete solution. We report an empirical study using the path finding problems presented in Novick and Hmelo (J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 20:1296-1321, 1994) as material. We show that both transformational and derivational analogy are problem-solving strategies realized by human problem solvers. Which strategy is evoked in a given problem-solving context depends on the constraints guiding object-to-object mapping between source and target problem. Specifically, if constraints facilitating mapping are available, subjects are more likely to employ a transformational strategy, otherwise they are more likely to use a derivational strategy.

Problem Statement: Problem-Solving (PS) skills have been determined to be an internationally useful strategy for better nursing. That is why PS skills underlie all nursing practice, teamwork, and health care management, and are a main topic in undergraduate nursing education. Thus, there is a need to develop effective methods to teach problem-solving skills. The present study, as a first study in Turkey, may provide valuable insight for nurse academicians employed at üniversities. Purpose of ...

This training manual is for teachers participating in the Research Utilizing ProblemSolving (RUPS) workshops. The workshops last for four and one-half days and are designed to improve the school setting and to increase teamwork skills. The teachers participate in simulation exercises in which they help a fictitious teacher or principal solve a…

This paper presents the IPS-I-model: a model that describes the process of information problemsolving (IPS) in which the Internet (I) is used to search information. The IPS-I-model is based on three studies, in which students in secondary and (post) higher education were asked to solve information

In this paper we propose a new method to solve the problem of uncalibrated photometric stereo, making very weak assumptions on the properties of the scene to be reconstructed. Our goal is to solve the generalized bas-relief ambiguity (GBR) by performing a total variation regularization of both...

This study's hypotheses were that (a) word-problem (WP) solving is a form of text comprehension that involves language comprehension processes, working memory, and reasoning, but (b) WP solving differs from other forms of text comprehension by requiring WP-specific language comprehension as well as general language comprehension. At the start of…

This book is offers a comprehensive overview of information theory and error control coding, using a different approach then in existed literature. The chapters are organized according to the Shannon system model, where one block affects the others. A relatively brief theoretical introduction is provided at the beginning of every chapter, including a few additional examples and explanations, but without any proofs. And a short overview of some aspects of abstract algebra is given at the end of the corresponding chapters. The characteristic complex examples with a lot of illustrations and tables are chosen to provide detailed insights into the nature of the problem. Some limiting cases are presented to illustrate the connections with the theoretical bounds. The numerical values are carefully selected to provide in-depth explanations of the described algorithms. Although the examples in the different chapters can be considered separately, they are mutually connected and the conclusions for one considered proble...

We investigate heterotic ground states in four dimensions in which N=4 supersymmetry is spontaneously broken to N=2. N=4 supersymmetry is restored at a decompactification limit corresponding to m_{3/2}\\to 0. We calculate the full moduli dependent threshold corrections and confirm that they are supressed in the decompactification limit m_{3/2}\\to 0 as expected from the restauration of N=4 supersymmetry. This should be contrasted with the behavior of the standard N=2 groundstates where the coupling blow up linearly with the volume of the decompactifying manifold. This mechanism provides a solution to the decompactification problem for the gauge coupling constants. We also discuss how the mechanism can be implemented in ground states with lower supersymmetry.

Full Text Available Diversity of the population in a genetic algorithm plays an important role in impeding premature convergence. This paper proposes an adaptive neurofuzzy inference system genetic algorithm based on sexual selection. In this technique, for choosing the female chromosome during sexual selection, a bilinear allocation lifetime approach is used to label the chromosomes based on their fitness value which will then be used to characterize the diversity of the population. The motivation of this algorithm is to maintain the population diversity throughout the search procedure. To promote diversity, the proposed algorithm combines the concept of gender and age of individuals and the fuzzy logic during the selection of parents. In order to appraise the performance of the techniques used in this study, one of the chemistry problems and some nonlinear functions available in literature is used.

Full Text Available The Business School at the Bern University of Applied Sciences is offering a new MScBA degree program in business development. The paper presents a practical report about the action learning approach in the course 'Business Analysis and Design'. Our problem-based approach is more than simply 'learning by doing'. In a world of increasing complexity, taking action alone will not result in a learning effect per se. What is imperative is to structure and facilitate the learning process on different levels: individual construction of mental models; understanding needs and developing adequate solutions; critical reflection of methods and processes. Reflective practice, where individuals are learning from their own professional experiences rather than from formal teaching or knowledge transfer, may be the most important source for lifelong learning.

This work consists in evaluating algebraically and numerically the influence of a disturbance on the spectral values of a diagonalizable matrix. Thus, two approaches will be possible; to use the theorem of disturbances of a matrix depending on a parameter, due to Lidskii and primarily based on the structure of Jordan of the no disturbed matrix. The second approach consists in factorizing the matrix system, and then carrying out a numerical calculation of the roots of the disturbances matrix characteristic polynomial. This problem can be a standard model in the equations of the continuous media mechanics. During this work, we chose to use the second approach and in order to illustrate the application, we choose the Rayleigh-Bénard problem in Darcy media, disturbed by a filtering through flow. The matrix form of the problem is calculated starting from a linear stability analysis by a finite elements method. We show that it is possible to break up the general phenomenon into other elementary ones described respectively by a disturbed matrix and a disturbance. A good agreement between the two methods was seen. To cite this article: H.B. Hamed, R. Bennacer, C. R. Mecanique 336 (2008).

This study examined the relationships between symptoms, cognitive functioning, and social skill deficits in schizophrenia. Few studies have incorporated measures of cognitive functioning and symptoms in predictive models for social problemsolving. For our study, 44 participants were recruited from consecutive outpatient admissions. Neuropsychological tests were given to assess cognitive function, and social problemsolving was assessed using structured vignettes designed to evoke the participant's ability to generate, evaluate, and apply solutions to social problems. A sequential model-fitting method of analysis was used to incorporate social problemsolving, symptom presentation, and cognitive impairment into linear regression models. Predictor variables were drawn from demographic, cognitive, and symptom domains. Because this method of analysis was exploratory and not intended as hierarchical modelling, no a priori hypotheses were proposed. Participants with higher scores on tests of cognitive flexibility were better able to generate accurate, appropriate, and relevant responses to the social problem-solving vignettes. The results suggest that cognitive flexibility is a potentially important mediating factor in social problem-solving competence. While other factors are related to social problem-solving skill, this study supports the importance of cognition and understanding how it relates to the complex and multifaceted nature of social functioning.

Problem-focused interventions are considered to be one of the most effective group counseling strategies with adolescents. This article describes a problem-focused group counseling model, SolvingProblems Together (SPT), with a small group of adolescent African American boys struggling with anger management. Adapted from the teaching philosophy of…

A quantum algorithm is proposed to solve the satisfiability (SAT) problems by the ground-state quantum computer. The scale of the energy gap of the ground-state quantum computer is analyzed for the 3-bit exact cover problem. The time cost of this algorithm on the general SAT problems is discussed

Literacy coaches are more effective when they have a clear plan for their collaborations with teachers. This article provides details of such a plan, which involves identifying a problem, understanding the problem, deciding what to do differently, and trying something different. For each phase of the problem-solving model, there are key tasks for…

Good and fast solutions to the airline crew pairing problem are highly interesting for the airline industry, as crew costs are the biggest expenditure after fuel for an airline. The crew pairing problem is typically modelled as a set partitioning problem and solved by column generation. However, ...

Good and fast solutions to the airline crew pairing problem are highly interesting for the airline industry, as crew costs are the biggest expenditure after fuel for an airline. The crew pairing problem is typically modelled as a set partitioning problem and solved by column generation. However, ...

A chemical batch scheduling problem is modelled in two different ways as a discrete optimization problem. Both models are used to solve the batch scheduling problem in a two-phase tabu search procedure. The method is tested on real-world data.

Many innovations in organizations result when people discover insightful solutions to problems. Insightful problem-solving was considered by Gestalt psychologists to be associated with productive, as opposed to re-productive, thinking. Productive thinking is characterized by shifts in perspective which allow the problem solver to consider new,…

The article provides a review of recent research on insight problem-solving performance. We discuss what insight problems are, the different types of classic and newer insight problems, and how we can classify them. We also explain some of the other aspects that affect insight performance, such as hints, analogs, training, thinking aloud, and…

Recently, Yeh developed a method of solving potential field problems for complicated geometries and theorems of piecewise continuous eigenfunctions which can be used to solve boundary-value problems in composite media by the separation of variables. This paper shows that by a proper arrangement of matching conditions and boundary conditions, this method and these theorems can be applied simultaneously so that the problems in composite media with complicated geometries can be solved. To illustrate this, a heat-conduction problem in a composite cylinder with an abrupt change in cross-section area is solved. Also presented in this paper are the method of handling the nonhomogeneous boundary conditions for composite media and the extension of one of the above-mentioned theorems to include imperfect contact on material boundaries

Methods : In this correlational- descriptive study, 369 (208 female and 161 male from, Mazandaran University of Medical Science were selected through stratified random sampling method. In order to collect the data, the social problemsolving inventory-revised and general health questionnaire were used. Data were analyzed through SPSS-19, Pearson′s correlation, t test, and stepwise regression analysis. Results : Data analysis showed significant relationship between social problemsolving ability and mental health (P < 0.01. Social problemsolving ability was significantly associated with the somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression (P < 0.01. Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrated that there is a significant correlation between social problemsolving ability and mental health.

This book is at once a supplement to traditional foundation engineering textbooks and an independent problem-solving learning tool. The book is written primarily for university students majoring in civil or construction engineering taking foundation analysis and design courses to encourage them to solve design problems. Its main aim is to stimulate problemsolving capability and foster self-directed learning. It also explains the use of the foundationPro software, available at no cost, and includes a set of foundation engineering applications. Taking a unique approach, Dr. Yamin summarizes the general step-by-step procedure to solve various foundation engineering problems, illustrates traditional applications of these steps with longhand solutions, and presents the foundationPro solutions. The special structure of the book allows it to be used in undergraduate and graduate foundation design and analysis courses in civil and construction engineering. The book stands as valuable resource for students, faculty, ...

Full Text Available This work shows the relationship between the development of mathematical thinking and creativity with mathematical problem posing and solving. Creativity and mathematics are disciplines that do not usually appear together. Both concepts constitute complex processes sharing elements, such as fluency (number of ideas, flexibility (range of ideas, novelty (unique idea and elaboration (idea development. These factors contribute, among others, to the fact that schoolchildren are competent in mathematics. The problemsolving and posing are a very powerful evaluation tool that shows the mathematical reasoning and creative level of a person. Creativity is part of the mathematics education and is a necessary ingredient to perform mathematical assignments. This contribution presents some important research works about problem posing and solving related to the development of mathematical knowledge and creativity. To that end, it is based on various beliefs reflected in the literature with respect to notions of creativity, problemsolving and posing.

During collaborative problemsolving (CPS), coordination occurs at different spatial and temporal scales. This multiscale coordination should, at least on some scales, play a functional role in facilitating effective collaboration outcomes. To evaluate this, we conducted a study of computer...

Although the insight phenomenon has attracted great attention from psychologists, it is still largely unknown whether its variation in well-functioning human adults has a genetic basis. Several lines of evidence suggest that genes involved in dopamine (DA) transmission might be potential candidates. The present study explored for the first time the association of dopamine D2 receptor gene ( DRD2 ) with insight problemsolving. Fifteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering DRD2 were genotyped in 425 unrelated healthy Chinese undergraduates, and were further tested for association with insight problemsolving. Both single SNP and haplotype analysis revealed several associations of DRD2 SNPs and haplotypes with insight problemsolving. In conclusion, the present study provides the first evidence for the involvement of DRD2 in insight problemsolving, future studies are necessary to validate these findings.

development through situated mathematical problemsolving. Modeling activities described in this paper support the epistemological position regarding the interplay that exists between the development of mathematical concepts and available methods of calculation. The spreadsheet used is Microsoft Excel 2001

Full Text Available Macleod et al. have given us an admirable case study and argued that "... there is an urgent need to create stronger and more transparent, integrated, and adaptive linkages between opening-up and closing down mechanisms at the science-policy interface." Two questions must be addressed: what sorts of managerial reform would be required to achieve this? and Is this likely to happen? A natural subsidiarity makes large institutions more inclined to "closing down" (specification actions and smaller ones more inclined to open problems up. The method of boundary judgments developed in integrative research could be applied to the science-policy interface but there are political and sociological reasons why this is unlikely to happen. Receptiveness to opening up actions is a prerequisite of innovation. Innovations are suppressed in times of geopolitical and economic stress. The result is often an ill-structured, co-evolutionary dynamic in which the actions of one species or population reduce the fitness of another.

The BR algorithm, a new method for calculating the eigenvalues of an upper Hessenberg matrix, is introduced. It is a bulge-chasing algorithm like the QR algorithm, but, unlike the QR algorithm, it is well adapted to computing the eigenvalues of the narrowband, nearly tridiagonal matrices generated by the look-ahead Lanczos process. This paper describes the BR algorithm and gives numerical evidence that it works well in conjunction with the Lanczos process. On the biggest problems run so far, the BR algorithm beats the QR algorithm by a factor of 30--60 in computing time and a factor of over 100 in matrix storage space.

Problemsolving is an essential skill for nuclear engineering graduates entering the workforce. Training in qualitative and quantitative aspects of problemsolving allows students to conceptualise and execute solutions to complex problems. Solutions to problems in high consequence fields of study such as nuclear engineering require rapid and accurate analysis of the problems, design of solutions (focusing on public safety, environmental stewardship and ethics), solution execution and monitoring results. A three-month course in problemsolving, modelling and simulation was designed and a collaborative approach was undertaken with instructors from both industry and academia. Training was optimised for the laptop-based pedagogy, which provided unique advantages for a course that includes modelling and simulation components. The concepts and tools learned as part of the training were observed to be utilised throughout the duration of student university studies and interviews with students who have entered the workforce indicate that the approaches learned and practised are retained long term.

The paper contributes to the methodology of problemsolving in physics. We argue that the task of solving a problem does not end by obtaining the result. We claim that a question like 'Why the result came out as it did?' can be meaningfully posed and that deeper understanding of the subject comes out as a result of a discussion on possible answers to such a question (Author)

In this paper we will document that real-life problemsolving in complex situations demands both rational (scientific) and intuitive (artistic) thinking. First, the concepts of art and science will be discussed; differences and similarities will be enhanced. Thereafter the concept of group problem...... solving facilitation both as science and art will be presented. A case study related to examinations planning will be discussed to illustrate the main concepts in practice. In addition, other cases studies will also be shortly presented....

The aim of this dissertation is to describe the role of educational strategy especially in field of the teaching of mathematics and to compare the mathematical problemsolving strategies of primary school pupils which are taught by using different educational strategies. In the theoretical part, the main focus is on divergent educational strategies and their characteristics, next on factors affected teaching/learning process and finally on solving the problems. The empirical part of the disse...

Genetic algorithms are based on the mechanics of the natural selection and natural genetics processes. These algorithms are finding increasing application to a wide variety of engineering optimization and machine learning problems. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the use of a genetic algorithm to solve fluid flow problems. Specifically, the authors use the algorithm to solve the one-dimensional flow equations for a pipe

International audience; In this article, we report on an exploratory study on teaching practices related to problemsolving of a group of 29 novel secondary mathematics teachers. For this purpose, two independent instruments were designed, the first one is based on lesson observations, and the second one is a questionnaire answered by teachers about their teaching practices while working on non-routine problemsolving with their students. For each instrument, we perform a statistical analysis...

International audience; In this paper, we present a programming paradigm for AI problemsolving based on computational concepts drawn from Affective Computing. It is believed that emotions participate in human adaptability and reactivity, in behaviour selection and in complex and dynamic environments. We propose to define a mechanism inspired from this observation for general AI problemsolving. To this purpose, we synthesize emotions as programming abstractions that represent the perception ...

Full Text Available The use of methods of branches and boundaries as well as the methods of dynamic programming at solving the problem of «knapsack» is grounded. The main concepts are expounded. The methods and algorithms development for solving the above specified problem are described. Recommendations on practical application of constructed algorithms based on their experimental investigation and carrying out charactheristics comparison are presented.

Background : The main objective of this study was predicting student′s mental health using social problemsolving- ability . Methods : In this correlational- descriptive study, 369 (208 female and 161 male) from, Mazandaran University of Medical Science were selected through stratified random sampling method. In order to collect the data, the social problemsolving inventory-revised and general health questionnaire were used. Data were analyzed through SPSS-19, Pearson′s correlation, t tes...

Full Text Available High levels of acute and chronic stress are known to impair problem-solving and creativity on a broad range of tasks. Despite this evidence, we know little about protective factors for mitigating the deleterious effects of stress on problem-solving. Building on previous research showing that self-affirmation can buffer stress, we tested whether an experimental manipulation of self-affirmation improves problem-solving performance in chronically stressed participants. Eighty undergraduates indicated their perceived chronic stress over the previous month and were randomly assigned to either a self-affirmation or control condition. They then completed 30 difficult remote associate problem-solving items under time pressure in front of an evaluator. Results showed that self-affirmation improved problem-solving performance in underperforming chronically stressed individuals. This research suggests a novel means for boosting problem-solving under stress and may have important implications for understanding how self-affirmation boosts academic achievement in school settings.

Patterns of problem-solving among 5-to-7 year-olds' were examined on a range of literacy (reading and spelling) and arithmetic-based (addition and subtraction) problem-solving tasks using verbal self-reports to monitor strategy choice. The results showed higher levels of variability in the children's strategy choice across Years I and 2 on the arithmetic (addition and subtraction) than literacy-based tasks (reading and spelling). However, across all four tasks, the children showed a tendency to move from less sophisticated procedural-based strategies, which included phonological strategies for reading and spelling and counting-all and finger modellingfor addition and subtraction, to more efficient retrieval methods from Years I to 2. Distinct patterns in children's problem-solving skill were identified on the literacy and arithmetic tasks using two separate cluster analyses. There was a strong association between these two profiles showing that those children with more advanced problem-solving skills on the arithmetic tasks also showed more advanced profiles on the literacy tasks. The results highlight how different-aged children show flexibility in their use of problem-solving strategies across literacy and arithmetical contexts and reinforce the importance of studying variations in children's problem-solving skill across different educational contexts.

We describe an essentially perfect hashing algorithm for calculating the position of an element in an ordered list, appropriate for the construction and manipulation of many-body Hamiltonian, sparse matrices. Each element of the list corresponds to an integer value whose binary representation reflects the occupation of single-particle basis states for each element in the many-body Hilbert space. The algorithm replaces conventional methods, such as binary search, for locating the elements of the ordered list, eliminating the need to store the integer representation for each element, without increasing the computational complexity. Combined with the "checkerboard" decomposition of the Hamiltonian matrix for distribution over parallel computing environments, this leads to a substantial savings in aggregate memory. While the algorithm can be applied broadly to many-body, correlated problems, we demonstrate its utility in reducing total memory consumption for a series of fermionic single-band Hubbard model calculations on small clusters with progressively larger Hilbert space dimension.

The internal kink modes of a cylindrical plasma are investigated by a linear eigen value problem and their nonlinear evolution is studied by 3-dimensional MHD simulation based on the rectangular column model under the fixed boundary condition. The growth rates in two cases, namely uniform and diffused current profiles are analyzed in detail, which agree with the analytical estimation by Shafranov. The time evolution of the m = 1 mode showed that q > 1 is satisfied at the relaxation time (q safety factor), a stable configuration like a horse shoe (a new equilibrium) was formed. Also, the time evolution of the pressure p for the m = 2 mode showed that a stable configuration like a pair of anchors was formed. (author)

Full text: Problemsolving skills are essential for all radiation protection personnel. Although some students have more natural problemsolving skills than others, all students require practice to become comfortable using these skills. At the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), a unique one-semester course was developed as part of the core curriculum to teach students problemsolving skills and elements of modelling and simulation. The underlying emphasis of the course was to allow students to develop their own problemsolving strategies, both individually and in groups. Direction was provided on how to examine problems from different perspectives, and how to determine the proper root problem statement. A five-point problemsolving strategy was presented as: 1) Problem definition; 2) Solution generation; 3) Decision; 4) Implementation; 5) Evaluation. Within the strategy, problemsolving techniques were integrated from diverse areas such as: De Bono 's six thinking hats, Kepner-Tregoe decision analysis, Covey's seven habits of highly effective people, Reason's swiss cheese theory of complex failure, and Howlett's common failure modes. As part of the evaluation step, students critically explore areas such as ethics and environmental responsibility. In addition to exploring problemsolving methods, students learn the usefulness of simulation methods, and how to model and simulate complex phenomena of relevance to radiation protection. Computational aspects of problemsolving are explored using the commercially available MATLAB computer code. A number of case studies are presented as both examples and problems to the students. Emphasis was placed on solutions to problems of interest to radiation protection, health physics and nuclear engineering. A group project, pertaining to an accident or event related to the nuclear industry is a course requirement. Students learn to utilize common time and project management tools such as flowcharting, Pareto

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically why a systematic problem-solving routine can play an important role in the process improvement efforts of hospitals. Data on 18 process improvement cases were collected through semi-structured interviews, reports and other documents, and artifacts associated with the cases. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Adherence to all the steps of the problem-solving routine correlated to greater degrees of improvement across the sample. Analysis resulted in two models. The first partially explains why hospital workers tended to enact short-term solutions when faced with process-related problems; and tended not seek longer-term solutions that prevent problems from recurring. The second model highlights a set of self-reinforcing behaviors that are more likely to address problem recurrence and result in sustained process improvement. The study was conducted in one hospital setting. Hospital managers can improve patient care and increase operational efficiency by adopting and diffusing problem-solving routines that embody three key characteristics. This paper offers new insights on why caregivers adopt short-term approaches to problemsolving. Three characteristics of an effective problem-solving routine in a healthcare setting are proposed.

In Clustering Problems, groups of similar subjects are to be retrieved from data sets. In this paper, Clustering Problems with the frequently used Minimum Sum-of-Squares Criterion are solved using meta-heuristic search. Tabu search has proved to be a successful methodology for solving optimization...... problems, but applications to large clustering problems are rare. The simulated annealing heuristic has mainly been applied to relatively small instances. In this paper, we implement tabu search and simulated annealing approaches and compare them to the commonly used k-means approach. We find that the meta-heuristic...

We asked: "What are the similarities and differences in mathematical processing associated with solving learning-based and insight-based problems?" To answer this question, the ERP research procedure was employed with 69 male adolescent subjects who solved specially designed insight-based and learning-based tests. Solutions of…

Full Text Available Due to the fact that critical thinking and problemsolving skills are essential components of educational and social lives of individuals, this present study which investigate critical thinking and problemsolving skills of undergraduate students of nursing was planned. This is a descriptive study. The study population consisted of undergraduate nursing students of a university during the 2011-2012 academic year. Any specific sampling method was not determined and only the voluntary students was enrolled in the study . Several participants were excluded due to incomplete questionnaires, and eventually a total of 231 nursing students were included in the final sampling. Socio Demographic Features Data Form and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Scale and ProblemSolving Inventory were used for data collection. The mean age of 231 subjects (148 girls, 83 boys was 21.34. The mean score of critical thinking was 255.71 for the first-grade, 255.57 for the second-grade, 264.73 for the third-grade, and 256.468 for the forth-grade students. The mean score of critical thinking was determined as 257.41 for the sample, which can be considered as an average value. Although there are mean score differences of critical thinking between the classes , they were not statistically significant (p> 0.05. With regard to the mean score of problemsolving, the first-grade students had 92.86, the second-grade students had 94. 29, the third-grade students had 87.00, and the forth-grade students had 92.87. The mean score of problemsolving was determined as 92.450 for the sample. Although there are differences between the classes in terms of mean scores of problemsolving, it was not found statistically significant (p> 0.05. In this study, statistically significant correlation could not be identified between age and critical thinking skills of the subjects (p>0.05. However, a negative correlation was identified at low levels between critical thinking skills and